One Step at a Time
by CessieRose25
Summary: A year and three months after Pitch Black's defeat, a new threat emerges from the shadows. Jack Frost, posing as a student at a new arts academy, is sent to keep an eye on three teenagers who potentially have the power to vanquish this evil. When tragedy strikes, the four friends must get their acts together before they become stuck as a ragtag team of unseen spirits forever.
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

Four.

It's funny how many times that number crops up in life. Four Ages of Man: infancy, childhood, adulthood and old age. Four periods of the day: morning, afternoon, evening and night. Four Elements: Water, Air, Earth and Fire. Four Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

It's simple things like that that just pass you by. You fail to notice them because it's part of normality. And until something happens to break that normality, you continue to disregard that sort of thing.

But it's when that normality is broken that you realise that simple things like that compose a bigger part of your life than you could have ever imagined.

* * *

 **And so, this gargantuan project makes its way to this website! This is easily the longest story I have ever written, and I had a blast writing it. I wanted to wait until it was fully completed before I began posting it on here to avoid long hiatuses like what happened with _How to Twist a Dragon's Tail_. Updates to this story will be bi-weekly, on Sundays and Wednesdays. I'm uploading this prologue today as a sorry for taking so long to upload anything on this website.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new story. I'll upload the first chapter on Sunday. Until then, keep reading and writing, feel free to leave a review and follow the story and I'll see you guys around.**


	2. Laughter from the Shadows

**Laughter from the Shadows**

If you've had as hectic a job as E. Aster Bunnymund, you'd be glad for a break every now and then. Given that his job as the Easter Bunny meant that he could only get preparations done for the holiday within a couple of weeks at most due to the perishable nature of the eggs he used, Bunny's work was stressful even at the best of times – a year and three months ago, stress levels had increased tenfold with the threat that the Bogeyman, Pitch Black, had posed to the Guardians of Childhood. Easter had pretty much been ruined as the man's Nightmares had crushed every single egg before they had a chance to leave Bunny's safe haven, the Warren, and kids around the world had almost completely lost belief in him. It had been thanks to the quick actions of the hellion Winter Spirit with a heart of gold, Jack Frost, that had made sure the holiday was saved.

"Wonder what the oversized icicle's up to now?" Bunny wondered to himself as he hopped through the Warren one evening in July. He knew that of all the times of the year, Jack was least active during the summer months – the most he did was cause a bit of frost in the southern hemisphere and hang around Antarctica but that was mostly due to the fact that the last time he'd tried to cause any of his normal winter weather in July he'd had a run in with Mother Nature and it was easy to say that the encounter hadn't ended well for the now 318 year old spirit. Since then, Jack had made sure to watch his step during the summer months even though he still gave Bunny a bit of grief in the spring if it suited him (he was always out by the time the Groundhog showed itself, though).

Bunny was by far the Guardian of Childhood with, for want of a better term, the most 'relaxed' job of the five of them, giving that his work, whilst fast paced and stressful, only took up a couple of weeks every year as opposed to Nicholas St. North, who spent the entire year preparing for Christmas; Queen Toothiana, the Tooth Fairy who worked around the clock; Sanderson ManSnoozie, the Sandman who worked nights; and of course, Jack Frost, who didn't see his job as 'work', more of just enjoying himself twenty-four seven although his work was governed by the seasons. As of such, Bunny spent most of the year wandering around the Warren, sometimes coming up with designs for next year's Easter. Currently, he was contemplating when he would next visit his second favourite place on the planet – Australia – when the Pooka suddenly felt a foreign presence in his safe haven.

"What going on?" he muttered, his ears pricking up and his nose twitching. Bunny crouched defensively and his nearby Egg Warriors switched their normally passive faces to fearsome battle-ready scowls. Bunny carefully walked through the Warren, trying to determine the source of the intrusion when he heard a high pitched laughter coming from the main tunnel room where the eggs would travel up to the surface. He raced into the room, followed closely by the Warriors, to see nothing. Nothing except, that is, a single black feather – Bunny picked it up and examined it. It was far too small to be a raven's or a crow's and at the same time it was too soft and too big to be a blackbird's.

"Someone was here..." Bunny growled softly. "Check for black sand," he ordered his Egg Warriors who dutifully stomped off to look for any telltale sign that Pitch might have been there. However, Bunny had his doubts – that laugh, whilst maniacal and fear inducing like the Bogeyman's, had been far too high to belong to Pitch. Bunny's suspicions were confirmed when the Egg Warriors returned with the affirmation that there was no black sand to be found anywhere. "Well, if it wasn't Pitch, who was it then?" Bunny grumbled. "Guard the Warren – I'll be right back!" he instructed, opening a tunnel that wasn't as smooth or sunlit as his others – this one was darker and more rugged.

It was a tunnel that led to the Lair of the Bogeyman.

* * *

"Well, well, well, it's not often I get visitors, Rabbit," Pitch Black greeted smoothly as Bunny emerged from his tunnel into the dark, gloomy lair. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You don't," Bunny snapped distastefully. "You've got some questions to answer."

"Well, given that you and your little friends got me stuck down here until I can get those dratted sand horses back under control..." Pitch spat back in equal disdain as the barely-under-control Nightmares hissed angrily in the background. "...I have half a mind to refuse that request."

"Oh, yeah? Be grateful I'm here at all, you shadow-sneaking rat-bag!" Bunny hissed. "Listen, I'm gonna be outta here as soon as you tell me what this is all about," he added, shoving the black feather in Pitch's face. The man's calm expression didn't change, even as the Nightmares hissed in the shadows, as he examined the feather.

"I'm afraid I can't help with that, Rabbit," he noted plainly, handing it back. "Although I'm surprised that a Guardian of Childhood of all the supernatural beings would come to me for help."

"It wasn't help I was after – just information," Bunny snapped, stuffing the feather back into his satchel. "There's a difference."

"Oh, gracious, no need to get huffy with me," Pitch sighed sarcastically. He remained silent and Bunny was about to take his leave when he spoke up again. "If you are really worried about this I would suggest asking Tsar Lunar for advice."

"I beg...what?" Bunny spluttered, taken aback by the unexpectedness of Pitch's suggestion. "How come you're so willing to tell me to go to the Man in the Moon for help?" Pitch's grey-amber eyes met the bright green irises etched into Bunny's face. Bunny was surprised to see them filled with concern, something he never thought he'd see coming from the Bogeyman especially when it came to the Guardians.

"Ask him yourself," Pitch repeated. "You heard a laugh back in the Warren, didn't you?"

"Now how the bloody hell did you know that?"

"Because whilst Tsar watches over everything in the moonlight, I'm aware of most occurrences in the Shadows," Pitch explained. The way he said it made Bunny think of 'Shadows' with a capital 'S'. "I heard the laughter here as well, but its source is a power even I don't understand. I'm not one to say this normally, but I would recommend playing your cards wisely."

With that, he vanished into the shadows, leaving Bunny stunned speechless for a few seconds. It wasn't like Pitch to advise the Guardians on anything! Still, if Pitch's suggestion wasn't enough to convince Bunny that an audience with the Man in the Moon was required, the fact that he acted that way certainly was. Bunny quickly opened up another tunnel and hightailed it out of the lair – when he next showed his face above the ground, he was literally at the top of the world.

"Whoa! Freezing!" Bunny yelped. He'd undershot North's Workshop at the Pole again and was stuck outside in the freezing cold. As fast as his feet would carry him, Bunny bounded to the workshop in the distance and almost crashed head first into the main door. "North!" he bellowed, slamming his fist against the door multiple times. "The the love of everything egg shaped, North! Open up!" It was a Yeti that answered the door but Bunny couldn't care less – he was just grateful to get into the warm. "Cheers, mate – now where is that bumbling toymaker anyway?" he muttered grumpily, warming his feet up when a familiar person walked around the corner.

"Bunny, old friend!" North boomed cheerfully. "I was not expecting visit!"

"I wasn't exactly expecting you to," Bunny huffed irritably. "I was hardly planning this."

"Come inside – I'll have elves get you some eggnog," North chuckled jovially, leading a still grumbling Bunny into the main room where the Globe of Lights was sparkling brightly. Seeing it like that cheered Bunny up slightly and he temporarily forgot the reason as to why he was at the Pole in the first place. The workshop was, as usual, a bustling hub of activity as Yetis worked around the clock to get toys assembled and the elves...semi-electrocuted each other with spare Christmas Lights...Bunny never understood why North just let them run loose like that.

"I still don't get why you let those ankle-biters believe they make the toys, North," he snickered as North came over with some eggnog which Bunny gladly accepted.

"You know they have been with me long time," North smiled. Bunny smirked – he knew. The elves were actually North's old bandit companions restored to life after their human forms were turned to stone by the Spirit of the Forest, a beautiful jewel encrusted spirit that guarded the hidden village of Santoff Clausen in Siberia where North had first begun his journey to becoming a Guardian over five hundred years ago. "Anyway, why visit? I do not usually see you outside of Warren after Easter."

"Yeah, mostly because you're holed up in here," Bunny pointed out, remembering the reason for his visit. "As to why I'm here, something's wrong. As in, _seriously_ wrong," he explained grimly, pulling the black feather out of his satchel. "This showed up in the Warren not an hour ago. Just before I found it I heard some sort of high-pitched cackle." North frowned and took the feather from Bunny.

"You heard as well?" he asked quietly, his jolly nature vanishing within minutes.

"What?! You too?!" Bunny spluttered.

"A high-pitched laugh, you say? Sent shivers down spine," North grimaced. "You don't think that..."

"Before you say it, it's actually not Pitch," Bunny interrupted. North blinked with surprise and his eyebrows furrowed dangerously. "I know you're gonna go off at me but I've already checked."

"What?! You went to Pitch's Lair alone?!" North bellowed suddenly. Luckily Bunny was tough enough to withstand it.

"Give me a break, would you, mate?" Bunny huffed. "Look, even he heard it – at this rate I'm not going to be surprised if Frostbite heard it and he doesn't exactly have a permanent hall of residence like the rest of us."

"Alright, Bunny – what else did you find?" North sighed, pinching his eyebrows together. Bunny silently celebrated getting a chance to speak.

"Even he doesn't know what it is," he explained worriedly. "What's confusing me is that he's telling us to ask old Moon-face for advice."

"Must be bad if Bogeyman is telling Guardians to talk to Manny," North frowned. "If he does not know what is happening in Shadows, this has to be very serious."

"What do you think? Should we call in the others?" Bunny asked. North's frown deepened as he glanced up at the skylight where the Moon would normally be seen but unfortunately in the summer months the Moon never rose in the Arctic. There was no way they would be able to contact the Man in the Moon from there.

"Yes, but not here," he replied. "We'll get to the Tooth Palace – we should be able to contact Manny there."

Bunny groaned. Great – Tooth Palace meant that he would most likely have to go in the sleigh again. Great. Just great.

* * *

"You'd really think that with all this 'health and hygiene' stuff going around kids would learn to floss properly," Toothiana sighed cynically as she quickly examined another tooth brought in by her army of mini fairies. Toothiana, also known simply as Tooth, was a bubbly character who knew how to pack a punch when needed...literally. As Queen of the ancient race, the Sisters of Flight, she took her role as the head of the Tooth Fairies very seriously although underneath it all she was still as sweet and kind-hearted as anything. Diverting her attention away from the tooth, she began calling out directions to the mini fairies, sending them out to various locations around the world to collect teeth when a yelp caught her attention.

"Oh, struth! Oh, struth! That's the last time I take that bloody sleigh!"

"Aww, stop moaning, Bunny!"

Tooth's face lit up at the unexpected arrival of her fellow Guardians, North and Bunny. Abandoning the central tower, she shot over with hummingbird speed to greet them and couldn't help but hide a giggle behind a cough at the sight of Bunny looking as if he was going to throw up over to the side of the sleigh. She helped him out all the same whilst North practically leapt over the side, brushing his coat down.

"North, Bunny! I wasn't expecting to see you guys here," she smiled. "If I'd know I would've cleaned up the towers or something..."

"No matter, no matter, Tooth – is fine," North chuckled.

"Besides, we don't have time for a cosy chit-chat," Bunny grimaced. Tooth's violet eyes narrowed in confusion. "We've got a problem." Tooth thought for a while.

"Has it got something to do with that laugh?" she asked worriedly. Bunny nodded. "I haven't heard anything so frightening since those Nightmares..." she shivered. "What do we do?"

"First, summon Sandy and Jack," North explained. "We need to contact Man in Moon – in summer we can't do that from Pole." Tooth nodded her understanding and darted over to a group of mini fairies, including Baby Tooth – a mini fairy with a golden feather on her head like Tooth and different coloured eyes – who had until that moment been on a break.

"Girls, I need you to find Sandy and Jack," Tooth requested gently. All of the fairies, Baby Tooth most of all, fangirl-squealed at the mention of Jack. "Right...it should be nine o'clock in England right now – start there for Sandy – and Jack...best bet right now I'm guessing would be Antarctica. He mentioned Mother Nature wanted him to check on the ice levels. If that doesn't work, try Everest."

The mini fairies squeaked in response before darting off into the clouds.

* * *

 **And so the story begins. I will be updating this story on Wednesdays and Sundays, typically around 8PM GMT but it may be later depending on when I can get access to a computer. I hope you guys enjoy the story and I'll see you on Wednesday.**


	3. Tsar Lunar XVI

_**Tsar Lunar XVI**_

"Woohoo!" a boy of about seventeen crowed gleefully as he tumbled through the clouds about the Himalayas. Jack Frost spent a lot of time on the highest mountain peaks during the summer as it was one of the few places where he could get away with the occasional snowstorm in the middle of summer. That and he had a lot of fun racing the Himalayan Mountain Geese – once they'd realised he wasn't going to hurt them, they'd been happy to let him near the nests and play with the goslings for years.

Of all the Guardians, and indeed all the supernatural beings in the worlds, Jack was, as far as he knew, the youngest – 301 years old (318 now, if you counted his human years) was relatively young for a spirit, especially given that some, like Mother Nature, had been around for even longer – millennia even. Either way you saw it, Jack's youth didn't just show in his appearance but also through his behaviour – Jack was known to be a bit of a hellion but you couldn't help but smile because of it. The Winter Spirit had spent 300 years being unseen by children and ignored by other spirits so one could hardly blame him for being in an even better mood than usual – people had finally started to truly believe in him.

"Ok, Wind – you can put me down, now!" Jack called. He never really flew – the wind just carried him wherever he wanted to go. The wind placed him gently at the top of Mount Everest where Jack lay back for a while looking up at the crisp blue sky, taking a break from his usual antics. In actual truth, Jack wasn't a massive fan of summer as it left him with almost nothing to do in comparison to winter through to the beginning of spring – the only reason he wasn't breaking rules as he usually did was due to his previous encounter with Mother Nature the last time he'd set off a snow fall in the middle of August (in his defence, it had been someone's wedding and he wanted it to be one for the bride and groom to remember. Not to mention it happened during the late 1850s so he'd rather hoped the Earth Spirit would have let it slip by now – then again, other supernatural beings seemed to have a thing for holding grudges against Jack). Although it was technically winter in the southern hemisphere at this time, it was still too warm for Jack to get away with much more than the occasional hail storm – he still treated Australia to a few frozen waves every now and then.

"Bunny's probably camping out there right now," Jack smirked to himself. He knew that Bunny liked to visit Australia during his time off work (he was really the only Guardian who had any) so he figured it would be in his own interest to avoid that place right now. "I should probably pay the guys a visit some time," he added to himself, pushing himself to his feet and preparing to call the wind again when something crashed into his forehead. "OW!"

" _*Squeak squeak squeal*_!"

"Jeez, Baby Tooth," Jack laughed through a grimace as he recognised the mini fairy squeaking apologetically in front of his face. "Forgot how much punch you girls pack." A bunch of other mini fairies showed up and began squealing as well, struggling to not starting fangirling around him. "Okay, okay, okay – one at a time," Jack chuckled, rubbing his forehead where he was sure a bright red spot would be appearing – thankfully his winter powers meant he could turn his hand into a cold compress which reduced the swelling.

Jack couldn't understand what the mini fairies were saying as such – only Tooth could do that – but he could get a rough idea of what they wanted to say to him through their actions. He'd had to get used to it since becoming the Guardian of Fun and year and three months ago. He watched carefully as Baby Tooth began squeaking and gesturing up at the sky – she was also beckoning and tugging at Jack's hood, as if asking him to come with her and the other mini fairies.

"I'm guessing Tooth's asking?" Jack deduced. The mini fairies all squealed and nodded frantically. "Alright, alright, alright. I'm coming, already."

Jack whistled for the wind and leapt off the nearest precipice into the air before following the mini fairies through the clouds to the Tooth Palace. All the while Jack couldn't help but wonder what Tooth was summoning him for – he also wondered if any of the other Guardians would be there. If they were, what could the meeting possibly be about?

Jack had the feeling his 'workload' was about to increase.

* * *

" _Ice_ of you to finally show up," Bunny snickered as Jack landed in the central tower of the Tooth Palace.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah – haven't heard that one before," Jack glared back in equal sarcasm, resisting the urge to freeze Bunny's ears together. Tooth grinned and darted over to hug him. "Oof! Okay...Tooth...can't breathe..."

"Oh! Sorry," Tooth giggled nervously, breaking the hug. "Nice to see that the girls finally found you – where were you?"

"Just hanging around the Himalayas," Jack replied. "The Mountain Goslings just hatched."

"Aww!" Tooth cooed despite herself. "No wonder it took a while to find you – I thought you'd be checking ice levels in Antarctica."

"I got back to Em-Jay, like, three weeks ago about that," Jack pointed out, darting a nervous glance around in case the Earth Spirit overheard him using his nickname for her – Mother Nature's real name was Emily-Jane and she hated Jack calling her Em-Jay (one time she had retaliated by throwing a branch at his head after getting him stuck in the middle of a hurricane). Luckily, this occasion was a no-show from the woman.

"Either way, it's nice to see you again, Jack," North greeted with a gentle smile on his face. Jack nodded in a similar greeting and said a quick 'Hi' to Sandy who, according to Bunny, had arrived about half an hour earlier. "Right, now everyone's here, we can get down to business..."

"I'm taking a hazard guess that this isn't a friendly catch up," Jack grimaced, leaning on his staff casually.

"Clearly not, mate," Bunny huffed. Jack raised a dark eyebrow, which stood out like no one's business against his pale skin and under his white hair which never seemed to lie flat regardless of how many times Tooth had tried to attack it with a comb. "Listen, we know something's up but we don't know..."

"Wait, what's wrong?" Jack frowned.

"Oh, don't start that," Bunny growled. "We've all heard it – even Sandy..."

"Heard what?" Jack snapped. Bunny rolled his eyes – of course Jack was unlikely to have heard the laugh. He didn't, as Bunny put it earlier, have a permanent place of residence like other spirits (Sandy had his Sandship – it counted). "Anyone want to tell me what's going on? Because once again I feel like I'm the one being left in the dark here."

Sandy tried explaining things through his Dreamsand pictures again but Jack pinched his eyebrows together to make it clear that it wasn't helping so Tooth stepped in.

"All of us heard a high pitched cackle a few hours ago," she explained. "It's not from something that dwells in the Moonlight like us."

"Uh...'dwells in the Moonlight'?" Jack frowned. Seriously, the Guardians made no sense sometimes.

"Meaning the Man in the Moon watches over us and makes sure we're in the right place at the right time," Bunny cut in. "The opposites to us are those who dwell in the Shadows – that's Pitch's domain."

"And you think this...'laugh' or whatever it was...came from there?" Jack assumed. Sandy nodded in confirmation. "Don't tell me Pitch is already out..." Jack grumbled.

"Actually, Bunny checked and even Pitch does not understand," North explained with a deep frown etched into his face. Jack stared at Bunny in surprise ("Don't look so surprised, Frostbite.") before letting North continue. "We have serious situation – apparently even Pitch advised Bunny that we should contact Man in Moon."

"Whoa..." Jack whistled. "Something pretty bad must be happening if Pitch is worried..."

"But how can we even trust him?" Tooth hissed slightly, her wings fluttering more aggressively. She still held a massive grudge against Pitch for holding her fairies captive. "I mean, he is a manipulative, scheming son of a..."

"Tooth!"

"Black hole," Tooth rolled her eyes. "I was going to say 'black hole'..."

Jack couldn't help but attempt to hide a snort behind a cough (he failed) – who knew that Toothiana, the Queen of the Sisters of Flight, would have picked up language like that? Sandy made a few Dreamsand pictures that North was just about able to translate.

"Sandy is right – Tooth has point," he remarked. "We do not know if we can trust Pitch's words." Jack noticed that his staff was glowing a pale blue – it wasn't the same blue that it went when he used his ice powers but instead it was gentler glow. He glanced up to look outside the tower and noticed that the full moon had just risen.

"I guess we ask ol' Manny if we can, then," he suggested, indicating the Moon outside. The other Guardians turned around and smiled slightly at the sight of their old friend.

"Ah! Man in Moon!" North beamed.

"Perfect timing, mate," Bunny greeted. Sandy and Tooth waved and Jack just stood and smiled slightly – despite all of his past irritation towards the Moon, he'd come to see why Man had never spoken directly to him and he was slightly thankful for it. He understood – that was really all he needed.

"Manny – we need guidance," North sighed. "Pitch warns of threat from Shadows even he doesn't understand. Does he tell truth?"

Instead of before when the Man in the Moon had cast shadows on the floor to convey his message (Jack had, until recently, been unaware of this) the Moon seemed to shine even brighter than before, forcing the Guardians to shield their eyes until it died down. By the time it did, Jack was taken aback by the sight of a man, barely any bigger than Sandy, with a single strand of hair atop his otherwise bare head. He was dressed in a smart suit with a pocket watch hanging from his pocket and was the same colour as the moon – he seemed to glow like it as well. Jack knew without being told that this was the physical representation of the Man in the Moon – Tsar Lunar XVI.

"Wow..." he exhaled. Manny turned and smiled at Jack.

"It's good to see you all in this form again," he greeted. Jack couldn't help but swear silently – okay, so he actually could talk?! Couldn't he have done this sometime in the past 300 years? It would have made Jack's life a lot easier, that was for sure. "I'm sorry – you were asking?"

"It's Pitch," Tooth explained. Bunny took over.

"All of us...with the exception of Frostbite..."

"I'm right here, Cottontail!"

"...we heard some kind of laugh a few hours ago," Bunny continued, ignoring Jack's attempts of riling him up. "And I found this in the Warren," he added, handing the black feather to Mann who frowned as he examined it. "I asked Pitch about it but he said he doesn't know anything except that it comes from the Shadows."

"Does he speak truth?" North repeated. Manny sighed and handed the feather back to Bunny.

"I'm afraid that he does," he replied. "Pitch is the King of Nightmares and the Shadows for a reason – it is his duty to watch over his own realm." Jack couldn't hide a shiver. "If something is moving in the Shadows that even he doesn't understand, we all have reason to be cautious."

"What does it mean?" Jack frowned. Manny sighed sadly and his dark eyes that twinkled like tiny stars darkened slightly with worry.

"Both Pitch and I have the ability to foresee events that conflict with the natural order of things," he explained. "He might not share it with you but it is my duty to keep Moon Dwellers safe."

"Sounds bad," Tooth winced, biting her fingers in worry. "What's going on?"

"This force is something beyond the Moonlight and the Shadows," Manny explained. "It operates with rules of its own – even I can't determine what it is."

"Brilliant..." Jack muttered, earning nothing but a boomerang to the head from Bunny. "OW! Do you want me to freeze your ears together, Kangaroo?"

"I thought I asked you to drop that!" Bunny snapped.

"Alright, gentlemen – break it up!" North huffed, stepping in between the Guardians of Hope and Fun before anything serious could break out. "Sorry, Manny – you were saying?"

"I may not know what this threat is," Manny continued. "But I have an idea as to what can stop it." The Guardians perked up. "There are four beings – Guardians of the Earth. They are aides of Mother Nature and representatives of the natural world. It varies according to their season."

"Wait a second..." Jack mumbled.

"Season?" Tooth blinked. Manny touched the reflective surface of the tower floor and images began flashing across as he explained.

"The Guardian of Spring guards Life as their Natural Centre and Creativity as their Guardian Centre, for each life form requires a creative mindset to achieve its place in the world. The Guardian of Summer's Natural Centre is Prosperity and their Guardian Centre is Courage, providing creatures and children alike the bravery they need to face challenges in life. The Guardian of Autumn has the Natural Centre of Change and the Guardian centre of Knowledge – for this reason they are probably the most powerful of the Earth Guardians as their strength increases as their knowledge grows. The Winter Guardian...well, I think we can guess," Mann smiled, looking up at Jack.

"What?" the young spirit blinked. "Me?"

"It makes sense, Jack," Tooth pointed out. "You are the Winter Spirit after all."

"Yeah, and so is Father Frost, Old Man Winter, the Snow Queen and Yuki Onna!" Jack pointed out. "They've been around way longer than I have – I'm hardly qualified for this." Well, that was true except for the Snow Queen – she was actually some hundred or so years younger than Jack, give or take a few decades (although she was physically older by a few years). A pretty enough spirit, Jack didn't have any problem admitting, and her sister was an amicable, fun-loving dryad who spent a lot of her time racing around the mountains in the summer. However, whilst she had a fun streak, the Queen had a stern side to her and had no problem putting Jack in his place. Apart from Mother Nature, the Snow Queen was one of the few spirits that Jack minded his manners around.

"You were qualified for Guardian," North reminded him. Jack made a face at the man. Manny continued.

"The funny thing with the Earth Guardians is that they have a habit of changing form," he explained. "Their appearance remains fundamentally the same, but their personalities will differ."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack frowned.

"I mean to say that Mother Nature's aides do not remain spirits permanently," Manny replied. "There comes a time when they can choose to take on a human form – that is, unless I decide to make them a Guardian if they deserve it," he added with a wink.

"Wait..." Jack muttered. "Are you saying that...?" Mann nodded before Jack could finish his question.

"Yes – before you died saving your sister, you were the human incarnation of the Winter Guardian," he answered. Jack exhaled slowly – this was a lot to take in within the space of five seconds. "After you died, your appearance altered to that of the Winter Guardian – your human appearance was similar but your current form is Jokul Frosti's appearance."

"So that's why my hair and eyes changed colour..." Jack mumbled, tugging at a lock of his snow white hair. It was hard to believe that it had once been chestnut brown and that his ice blue eyes had once been coloured hazel. "And I'm taking it that Jokul Frosti is the real name of the Winter Spirit?"

"Precisely," Manny nodded with a small smile. "Viking origins, I'm sure you realise." Jack shrugged – he kind of knew. He wasn't too clear on the details though – he'd never been one for studying. "Fun, as you know, is your Guardian Centre. Your Natural Centre, as the Winter Spirit, is Rebirth. Winter, after all, is a time for the old life in nature to end and to prepare the world for a new beginning." Jack couldn't help but think how ironic it was that his centre as an Earth Guardian was Rebirth.

"So, we need to track down the other Earth Guardians to take care of whatever it is that's going to bug us otherwise?" Bunny guessed. "Shouldn't be too hard – I bump into Mother Nature a good few times in the tunnels. She should know where they are..."

"Not so fast, Mr Bunnymund," Manny interrupted. "I'm afraid we hit a problem there."

"Don't tell me that they're missing?" Tooth groaned, rubbing her arm.

"Unfortunately, that is the case," Manny huffed. "They haven't been seen for a while now." Sandy stomped his foot and Dreamsand-steam blew out of his ears. "I agree, Sandy – this certainly does throw a spanner in the works." Jack had a brainwave.

"Do you ever get an indication as to when the Earth Guardians take human forms?" he asked. "Because if you do that should help." North's face lit up.

"Good thinking, Jack!" he beamed. "We find human incarnates, we find Earth Guardians..."

"If they've taken human forms at all," Tooth reminded him. "Plus we don't even know what they look like! Never in my whole existence have I ever seen a spirit who calls themself an Earth Guardian...until now, that is," she added, shooting a glance at Jack. Manny, on the other hand, had started smiling again.

"No, Your Majesty..."

"Oh, please. Just 'Tooth' is fine."

"...Jack has a valid point," Manny continued. "It is likely the Earth Guardians took on a human form – only Mother Nature would know the answer to that one."

"So I still need to find her?" Bunny sagged. Jack winced.

"Now's probably not the best time, Bunny – last time I checked Emily-Jane was letting off some steam in the Pacific," he explained quickly. "I wouldn't want to go near her when she's on an volcanic rampage again."

"Let me guess – global warming worries?"

"That and the whole oil fracking in the Arctic thing," Jack winced – he wasn't overly pleased about that either. In fact, he'd been trying to get Mother Nature's permission to mess things up so much in the Arctic that fracking would be made impossible – he had yet to hear back from her regarding that request but at least the two spirits had found something that they agreed on. The Guardians remained silent for a while until Manny spoke up again.

"One thing I will tell you is this," he said sadly. The images on the floor changed again to show the faces of three teenagers: a boy with dark brown-auburn bangs framing a freckled oval face with forest-green eyes; a girl with flame red curls tumbling over her shoulders and aquamarine eyes set into a round face; and another girl with bright green eyes and a heart shaped face framed by a pixie crop of brown hair. "I've foreseen the Shadows targeting these three," Manny explained. "I fear for their safety..."

* * *

 **Sorry I missed the update yesterday, guys! It's been a while since I've had a regular upload schedule. I'll try to get back into the swing of things. See you on Sunday with the next chapter!**


	4. Why Me?

_**Why Me?**_

Jack stood gazing at the faces Manny revealed in the mirror-like surface of the Tooth Palace floor with curiosity. The faces of the teens were fuzzy but that didn't mean he couldn't make out basic features like hair colour and the like. For once in his life...both of them...Jack fell silent as he frowned, deep in a thought many would have considered strange for the often wayward hellion of the Guardian of Fun.

"Do you think these kids could be linked in with everything?" Bunny suggested. Jack was hardly listening – he'd crouched down on the floor to examine the images of the three teens more closely and he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen them somewhere before. But where?

"They may well be," Manny replied. "Which is why I want Jack to keep a close eye on them." Jack started.

"What, me?" he blinked. "Where do I come into this?"

"I thought we just clarified that you're one of these Earth Guardians, mate," Bunny pointed out. Jack glared at him.

"I get that but if you're thinking of putting me in the role of babysitter you've got another thought coming," he huffed.

"I never said you'd be 'babysitting', Jack," Manny sighed, his pale eyebrows furrowing together. "You know of the new arts school set up in Burgess, I take it?"

"Moonstone Arts Academy?" Jack clarified. "Sure, building was finished last month. Why?" The Moonstone Arts Academy was an arts specialist school that had recently been built in Burgess. It had hired some of the best teachers in the country and students were coming in from all over the world to attend.

"As I understand it, these three will be starting school there next September," Manny explained, waving his hand so that the images on the floor vanished. "I want you to keep an eye on them there." Jack suddenly clicked as to what the Man in the Moon wanted him to do.

"Okay, first off, I don't sing, dance or any of that stuff," he protested. "Second, I've never been to a proper school in my entire life!"

It was true – the closest Jack had ever gotten to an education was learning to read and write at the parish school back when he was a human until he turned thirteen (he'd started work as a shepherd after that to help support his family). He'd never learnt anything else apart from that given that he enjoyed having fun too much to bother listening in on classes during term time as a Winter Spirit.

"Thirdly, how in the name of the constellations am I supposed to attend a flipping school when _no one around that age and above can see me_?!" Jack finished, the temperature dropping a little bit as his temper flared. Tooth shivered so Jack quickly calmed himself down – he made a mental note to talk to the Snow Queen about keeping his emotions in check, she was an expert in that field.

"Alright, first off..." Manny replied cynically. "Don't give me the singing and dancing excuses – from what I remember you were quite the King of the May when you were sixteen." Jack flushed redder than North's coat as the memory suddenly came back to him when Manny prompted it. Bunny snickered, Tooth giggled, Sandy chuckled quietly and North burst out laughing.

"My, my, Jack! You never said!" North boomed.

"You have to show us some time!" Tooth laughed, clutching her sides.

"Oh, shut up, guys!" Jack snapped, waving his staff angrily at them. Manny wasn't finished.

"Second, I suggest you spend the rest of the school holidays studying up," he smirked. "I've got some books for you to look at." Jack groaned. Brilliant... "Don't worry – I've enchanted them so you'll remember enough to pass off as a hardworking student." That didn't exactly make Jack feel any better.

"Well, better late than never," Tooth grinned. "Who knows? You might actually find studying fun!" Jack made a face at her – he begged to differ.

"Thirdly..." Manny cut across. "I've spoken to Mother Nature and she'll take care of the whole 'seeing' thing."

"You couldn't have done that sooner?" Jack asked dryly, still irritated at why Manny hadn't explained why no one could see him for three centuries straight.

"There will be a condition, though," Manny warned. "As long as people can see you, you will not be allowed to use your winter powers."

"What?!"

"You are supposed to be a normal human boy," Manny pointed out at Jack's protest. "Father Frost, Old Man Winter, Snow Queen Elsa and Yuki Onna will take care of winter whilst you're out of action."

"I was afraid you'd say that..." Jack mumbled. Father Frost had been the closest thing Jack had ever had to a father figure before meeting North – he was a gruff guy but meant well at heart (he was a bit like North without the jolly side). Old Man Winter...Jack tended to ignore him – the guy was a bit too grumpy for his liking. The Snow Queen, like Jack, had once had a mortal life on Earth as the Queen of an old kingdom and she was a nice enough lady – Jack had been lucky enough in the past to be let into her palace and, as mentioned earlier, she was one of the few spirits he actually behaved himself around – but had a stern side to her, although to Jack she acted like a mother towards a lot of the time despite being younger than he was in terms of spirit ages (physically she was at least four years his senior) and she did have a playful streak to her, as did her sister, the nymph Spring Princess who Jack had also met on a few occasions. Yuki Onna was a Japanese winter spirit (her name literally meant Snow Lady) who had a nasty tendency to freeze people to death in her blizzards – Jack agreed that she was pretty enough but her murderous streak had led to multiple conflicts between the pair of them. Most of the time Jack stayed out of her way.

Sandy suddenly put a hand up and began forming shapes above his head again. Everyone fell silent as Manny studied the flashing pictures carefully – Jack just about caught a snowflake (that usually represented himself), a house and a question mark. He guessed that Sandy was asking where he would stay during his stint as a 'human'.

"I appreciate your concern, Sandy, but I have thought of that," Manny smiled, looking at Jack who's bright blue eyes narrowed in confusion. "I know this may be more than a bit late in asking, but how would you like to see your family again, Jack?" Jack's eyes started shining with a light of their own.

"What? You...you're serious?" he spluttered, a shocked smile creeping its way onto his face of its own accord. "You mean I'm...I'm going to see my...my sister again? And...?"

"Can you even do that?" North asked, his eyes also wide with wonder.

"I've arranged things with Mother Nature and she's agreed to let your sister and mother's spirits to join you for as long as you take on this task," Manny explained to Jack who was now almost hyperventilating from amazement. "Like you they will take physical forms – you will live as a modern family in Burgess. They're already aware of their task – Mother Nature will be keeping an eye on you. She's taking the role of your aunt."

"I can't believe this..." Jack breathed heavily, barely registering that he'd have to put up with Emily-Jane of all spirits as his make-believe aunt for who-knew-how-long. "After all this time I...I finally get to see them again..." Tooth fluttered over and placed a hand on Jack's shoulder, smiling kindly. She knew how much this would mean to Jack – he hadn't seen his mother since he and his sister had left to go ice skating and the last he'd seen of his sister was just before he went under the ice after saving her life. It would be a good chance for closure between them.

"It makes it worth it, huh?" Tooth smiled. Jack calmed down and remembered why Manny was asking him this in the first place – to watch over these unfamiliar teens.

"You're not just doing this to bribe me into accepting this, are you?" he groaned. Manny winked.

"Given your reaction I'd say it has a sound chance of working," he joked. "Your family will also be important in keeping up your guise. I will alter the memories of the Burgess citizens whilst you remain in a visible human state – to them it will be as if you've lived there with them your entire life. In this case, that would be eighteen years."

"You can do that?" Tooth blinked, her eyes shooting wide opened. Memories were her speciality! How comes she never got a say in this?

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Manny apologised. "But it is necessary if Jack is to keep those three safe." Tooth sighed but accepted it – Manny knew best, after all. Jack still looked dubious.

"I still can't believe that you're asking me to act as babysitter."

"See it more as 'body-guarding'," Bunny suggested, a smirk still creeping onto his face. "Come on – they're only kids. They can't be that much trouble."

"That's the point I'm trying to make!" Jack snapped back in retaliation. "They're school kids!"

Manny, North, Tooth and Sandy all huffed and pinched their brows together in frustration. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Summer flew by faster than anyone could remember, just as it had done the year before and the year before that. The sun was barely over the horizon as alarm bells started going off all over Burgess on the first Monday of the September after the Man in the Moon had warned the Guardians of Childhood of an unknown threat lurking in the Shadows. Today marked the official opening and the first day of teaching at the new Moonstone Arts Academy – students had flocked into Burgess from across the country and indeed all over the world to attend the brand new state of the arts specialist school and many were brimming with excitement. They'd had to fight through multiple rounds of applications and auditions to get there – only the best of the best were being accepted in all areas of art, whether that be music, theatre, dance or creative art work.

All across town students could be seen with large rucksacks taking bicycles, skateboards or walking to the Academy, which lay on the opposite side of town to the forest. A crowd of seventeen and eighteen year olds began to form outside the gates to the Academy, waiting for them to be finally opened and for the new term to start.

* * *

 **This is primarily a _Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons_ story, but other Dreamworks and Disney characters will be making minor cameos here and there.**


	5. Morning Hiccups

_**Morning Hiccups**_

"Lad! Would you get your lazy butt down here, already?" a large man with light blonde hair covered by a woollen cap and a long moustache of a matching colour called up the stairs of his home. "The lass is going to be here any second now!"

"Alright! I'm coming, Gobber!" a young boy of seventeen called back from his room upstairs. Henrik Haddock had moved to Burgess, America from Norway only a few months ago to attend the new arts academy. He'd been interested in the performing arts since he was small and was especially fascinated by the technical side of things – as well as performing in a few of his old school plays, he'd also worked behind the scenes as a technician. He'd found he had a talent for this and was often found backstage on the lighting and sound desk as well as onstage. Henrik was a tall teenager and also incredibly lanky – he'd experienced multiple growth spurts after he'd hit his teenage years and, with his slightly gangly limbs and otherwise slender frame, it showed. His face was oval shaped with a jaw-line that was just starting to define itself and freckled, with a small scar on his chin caused from an accident that occurred two years prior. His messy mop of hair was a dark auburn-brown and his eyes were the colour of the forest in summer. Henrik wasn't what you'd call the most handsome boy on the block but at the same time he wasn't exactly unattractive – he had a dorky adorableness that made him likeable, and he was coming into his own as a young man.

Henrik wasn't really the most sociable of teens – he had a group of six or seven main friends back in Norway but even then he only spoke to one of them on a regular basis. Gobber, whose real name was Gordon Belcher (Henrik had never been able to pronounce his name correctly when he was small so the nickname had stuck), was a friend of his father – Stan Haddock – who also happened to be the mayor of Henrik's hometown back in Norway. Stan had been reluctant to let his son go to Moonstone Arts Academy but Henrik had persuaded Gobber to take him to America against his father's knowledge. Henrik could understand part of the reason why his father hadn't wanted him to go – Henrik's mother had disappeared when he was fifteen, presumed dead, so he was the only family Stan had left. He couldn't understand the other reason though – Stan desperately wanted his son to take over as mayor when he was older. It was safe to say that Henrik had little interest in this career path.

"HICCUP!"

"I said I'm coming!"

Yeah, Henrik's nickname, and indeed the name he went by, was Hiccup (we shall be using this name from now on). There were many speculations as to why he'd been landed with this nickname – one was that he wouldn't stop hiccoughing when he was small and another rather cruel one was that he'd been a genuine 'mistake' when he was born. Whatever the reason, Hiccup didn't mind the nickname and would often introduce himself that way unless the situation called for otherwise.

Unwilling to have his caretaker box his ears on account of being late before he'd event technically started school in his new home, Hiccup pulled on a green polo shirt and a brown jacket as well as a pair of dark green joggers before jumping the stairs two at a time, grabbing his satchel on the way down.

"Honestly, lad," Gobber sighed with a strong Scottish accent. "I know we live right next to the academy..."

"Prime seats if you ask me," Hiccup mumbled through a mouthful of sardines on toast.

"...but that doesn't give you an excuse to laze around in the mornings!" Gobber finished, ignoring his charge's comments. "Now brush your hair – can't have you making a bad first impression, can we?"

"I _did_ brush it – twice," Hiccup protested, his hand subconsciously running through his tangled mass of brown-auburn hair. It had been getting messier since he was fifteen and no matter what Hiccup did with it, the mop on his head refused to behave. The doorbell suddenly went. "That's for me!" Hiccup exclaimed, dashing out of the kitchen, slinging his satchel over his shoulder and swinging the front door open to reveal a girl his age with bright blonde hair and storm blue eyes. "Astrid!" he greeted. "You're here."

"Hey, Hiccup," the girl, Astrid, greeted cheerfully. "Ready for first day at school?"

"Uh...sure," Hiccup grinned. "I was born ready." Astrid laughed slightly.

Astrid Hofferson was Hiccup's closest friend from his hometown and had been lucky enough to land a spot at Moonstone as well. She was a classic Nordic Blonde who had her hair tied back in a plait that reached just below her shoulders and some hair was kept back by a maroon studded headband she had tied around her head, although a lot of bangs still managed to find a way over her left eye. Currently she was wearing a blue tank top and a maroon short skit over navy blue leggings and she had a dance gear bag slung over her shoulder. Whilst she could be a nice girl when you got to know her, Astrid was known to be fiercely competitive and had a secret aggressive side although she tended to save this for her really angry moments (luckily for Hiccup that didn't happen to him very often).

"We should get going," Astrid shrugged. "School's opening in half an hour and I don't particularly want to be stuck in the first-bell rush through the gates."

"Right," Hiccup nodded, stepping outside and closing the door behind him. "See you later, Gobber!" he called behind him.

"Be good, lad! And try not to land yourself in detention on your first day! Same goes for you, Astrid!"

The two teens barely heard the last part of Gobber's sentence.

Once the door was closed, Hiccup and Astrid began walking to the gates where students were gathering, waiting for the gates to open. It was still relatively warm for a September morning so Hiccup wasn't too fussed that he was wearing a polo shirt. He and Astrid pushed forward to the front of the crowd to get a clear view of the school – the pair of them could still hardly believe their luck at getting in.

"It's a long way from home, huh?" Astrid smiled. Hiccup nodded in agreement. "Can't believe your father _finally_ let you come here." Hiccup grimaced.

"Actually...he didn't," he muttered, flushing furiously. He always got nervous when explaining this kind of thing to Astrid (actually, he was nervous around her in general – Hiccup had had a crush on Astrid since they were small and they had officially become a couple two years ago). Astrid snapped her gaze to him and her eyes narrowed.

"I'm guessing this is the part where you tell me you ran away and told Gobber not to tell your dad," she noted cynically. Hiccup shrugged – close but no cigar.

"No, this is the part where I tell you that I asked Gobber to take me here whilst Dad was out on a trip to Sweden and that I left a note for him to pick up saying that there was no way he could persuade me to go back, therefore he had no choice but to let me come here," he corrected in his trademark dry humoured tone.

"So he knows?" Astrid asked.

"Provided he actually read the note," Hiccup sighed. He'd never had the best of relationships with his father. The pair of them barely ever spoke and when they did it was usually an argument concerning Hiccup's future. Things had gotten so bad between them that Gobber had started acting as a go-between to try and explain where the other person was coming from. Hiccup wouldn't be surprised if his father didn't notice his absence at all. Even so, Astrid was more than a bit annoyed with him.

"Hiccup, he could be really worried about you right now," she protested. "You've got to let him know that..."

"Since when has my father ever been worried about me?" Hiccup snapped angrily, his forest green eyes flashing slightly. "He barely even flinched when I got back from hospital after Mom...!" He trailed off as a lump suddenly rose into his throat, cutting off the rest of his sentence. Hiccup was slightly glad...it wasn't exactly something he liked to remind himself of.

"You _know_ he worries about you and you know when he was _especially_ worried about you," Astrid hissed back quietly. Hiccup paused – he knew what Astrid was talking about.

"Don't remind me..." he mumbled.

"Then don't say stuff like that," Astrid whispered. "Look, just promise me you'll get in touch with him at least?"

"I guess it's not like I've got real family here with me like you," Hiccup sighed. Astrid rolled her eyes – okay, just because her parents were there in Burgess with her...

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself, will you?" she smirked. "Now promise me!"

"Fine! I'll give him a call," Hiccup relented. "I promise."

"Alright. But if calling doesn't work try Skype – I'm not gonna be convinced otherwise."


	6. Family of a Redhead

_**The Family of a Hot-Head:**_

An alarm clocked beeped loudly in the ear of a red-headed teenager as sunlight made its way through the curtains. A hand slammed down on the snooze button as the teenager slowly woke up. She was a girl nearing seventeen with bright red curly hair that almost hid her round face from view. Her aquamarine eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief despite the fact she was so sleepy and freckles dotted her face in a pretty way that complimented her otherwise fierce look.

"Merida! Are you awake yet? You'll be late for school!"

"Yes, Mum – I'm up!" Merida called down to her mother, Elinor, as she swung her feet out of bed. Merida DunBroch, her mother, her father, Fergus, and her younger triplet brothers (Hamish, Hubert and Harris) had travelled all the way from Scotland for Merida to attend Moonstone Arts Academy. Merida was an extraordinarily talented dancer and had been from a young age (she also enjoyed archery and horseback riding as sports) so she'd been over the moon to discover she'd been granted a place at the new academy. The DunBroch family had only been living in Burgess for a few months – about the same amount of time as Hiccup and Gobber – but had already slotted in well with the community. Indeed, Merida was already good friends with Hiccup and Astrid and was looking forward to seeing them later that day at school.

Merida wasn't exactly known to care for her personal appearance. Her hair was a tangled enough mess as it was so the most she did with it was tie it in a ponytail to keep most of it out of her way, although there was always one pesky curl that kept making its way over her forehead. Merida didn't mind, though – sometimes she purposefully pulled it out of a hairdo just because she liked it. The teenager grabbed her favourite dark blue tank top and shoved some comfortable trousers on before grabbing her dance gear bag and sliding down the stair banisters and grabbing a slice of toast from her father's plate.

"Well, someone's hungry," Fergus chuckled at his daughter's antics.

"Big day ahe', Dad," Merida shrugged with her mouth full, earning a cough of caution from her mother. "First day school an' all."

"Merida," Elinor scolded as she gave the triplets their cereal. "A young lady does not talk with her mouth full."

"Mum...!" Merida moaned. Elinor had always had rather traditional views and would constantly try to get Merida to act more like a 'lady', as she put it. Needless to say, Merida tried to put up with it but being someone who could have come out of a finishing school was something she was far from interested in. Even so, she swallowed.

"Thank you, dear," Elinor nodded curtly. Merida hid a huff as best as she could...and failed. "Are you being huffy with me, young lady?"

"No," Merida retorted.

"You're being huffy with me!" Elinor retaliated.

"Ladies!"Fergus stepped in nervously. "Let's not get into a debate before Merida's even started school, okay?" The two ladies of the household sighed and went back to their breakfast. Ignoring her mother's muttered exclamations about her manners, Merida scoffed down the rest of her toast and headed to the front door to grab her coat.

"MERIDA!" Elinor suddenly snapped. Merida winced – she'd forgotten to grab a cardigan to hide her back. Just about visible under her tank top was a large tattoo of a sword design. Merida had done some research into her family's history and it had apparently been her family's coat of arms back when they'd been the head family of the Northern Highland clans. Merida often found herself wondering about that – it was hard to imagine that her ancestors had been royalty. "Care to explain _that_ to me?"

"It's just a tattoo, Mum," Merida grumbled.

"Were you _ever_ going to tell us about that?" Elinor practically roared. Fergus calmed his wife down.

"Now, now, Elinor," he soothed. "Merida's a teenager – she's at that age where she can make her own choices. She's already going to the Academy to continue her ballet like you wanted. You can let this one slip, can't you?" Elinor stopped shouting but her face was still steely. Merida shoved a coat on nonetheless.

"I'd better get goin' – school opening in 'alf an hour," she noted. "I'll see you tonight!"

"Say hello to your friends for us, lass!" Fergus called after his daughter.

"Will do! Love you, Dad! Love you, Mum!" Merida shouted back as she left the house and began riding her bike to the other side of town. Merida scoffed slightly as she weaved in and out of cars – her father had been wrong. Even as she was on her way to school, Merida had rebelled against her mother's decisions. Whilst Elinor had signed her daughter up to the Academy to specialise in ballet and ballroom, Merida had secretly changed her application at the last minute to switch her timetable to street and break dancing, the dance styles she excelled at unbeknownst to her mother.

"What does _she_ know?" Merida muttered to herself as she pulled up to the Academy's bike sheds. She dismounted her bike and chained it up before pushing through the crowd of students that had gathered in front of the gates. Eventually she spotted a couple of familiar faces and jogged over to Hiccup and Astrid who were finishing their breakfast by the gate. "OI! Hiccup! Astrid!"

"Merida!" Astrid waved. Hiccup looked up from taking a bite out of a plum and waved in greeting as well. "How're things?"

"Och, usual," Merida shrugged, digging an apple out of her bag and tucking in. "Mum thinks she can run my life all the time."

"I take it she saw the tattoo then," Hiccup grimaced, rubbing the back of his head. He knew how Merida felt when it came to a parent governing his life. He envied her for having another parent and siblings to turn to, though – it was times like this that he wished his mother was actually there with him.

"Uh-huh – flipped 'er li' when she di'," Merida huffed, spraying apple everywhere. "Ah! Sorry, Astrid!" she exclaimed in apology, covering her mouth and quickly swallowing.

"It's okay," Astrid smirked, brushing a fleck of apple off her shoulder. "You get these tank tops three a dime nowadays."

"Uh...I'm pretty sure you don't _get_ dimes, nowadays," Hiccup pointed out. All he got in return was a punch in the shoulder from Astrid. "Ow! I was kidding!" To be perfectly honest, even Hiccup wasn't sure so the punch was arguably deserved.


	7. Early Morning Blossom

_**Early Morning Blossom:**_

"Rapunzel! Breakfast is ready!"

"Coming, Mother!" a young teenage girl with a pixie crop of dark brunette hair and bright green eyes called as she finished clipping her hair back. Rapunzel Corona and her adoptive mother, Gothel, were another addition to Burgess as Rapunzel was to attend the academy. They'd only arrived a couple of weeks ago from Germany so Rapunzel hadn't been able to meet a lot of the students who would be her classmates but she was looking forward to making friends that day. Rapunzel was one of the kindest girls you could ever meet and was a talented musician, playing the guitar, harp and piano as well as singing. She was also a pretty good dancer, preferring ribbon dancing over many other styles as she enjoyed how creative she could be with it.

Rapunzel and her mother lived on the top floor of a new set of apartment blocks in the middle of Burgess. The apartment block was still relatively empty so for now Rapunzel pretty much had the place to herself when Gothel was at work – any time that she didn't spend playing her guitar or practising a few dance steps she spent painting on one of the many canvases that were strewn around her room (Gothel had forbidden her from painting on the walls as the rent didn't allow it).

 _RIIING! RIIIIIIING!_

Rapunzel paused in pinning her chocolate brown fringe back as she heard Gothel pick up the phone, with her hands poised over her head and three hair pins sticking out of her mouth. She waited to hear who the caller might be – the young brunette had her suspicions.

"Hello? Gothel Towers speaking," Gothel replied. Her formal tone instantly changed once she heard who was on the other end of the line. " _Ah! Guten morgen, Eugene! Ya...ya..._ okay, okay! Fine! I'm just teasing," she chuckled. Rapunzel squeaked excitedly and finished her hair before grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder as she darted through the apartment to the kitchen. "Can't have you two forgetting your mother tongue, can we?" Gothel laughed kind-heartedly down the phone as Rapunzel skidded into the kitchen, wearing her favourite pink blouse, purple vest-jumper and lilac mini-skirt over black leggings. Rapunzel waved excitedly and begged through body language to be given the phone – Eugene 'Flynn Rider' Fitzherbert was her childhood friend and the one other person from her home who was accompanying her to Moonstone Academy. Both had been delighted to find that the other person had a spot.

"Yes, yes, yes – here she is," Gothel smiled before holding the receiver out for her adopted daughter. "There you go, my Little Flower," she added warmly as Rapunzel jogged over to take the phone.

"Thanks, Mother!" Rapunzel grinned as she put the phone to her ear. "Who are you and how did you find me?" she asked teasingly down the line – Gothel chuckled as she began setting the table for breakfast. Rapunzel's grin widened as she heard the voice on the other end of the line.

 _"_ _I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you, but can I just say...hi?"_

Rapunzel giggled for a little while – this had been a joke between her and Eugene for as long as she could remember and it was how they always knew it was the other person at the end of the line.

"You're getting better at that suaveness at the end there, Eugene," Rapunzel giggled.

 _"_ _Well, acting's my major – had to practise somewhere."_

"Oh, right! You said theatre was gonna be your specialty at Moonstone, didn't you?" Rapunzel noted as she accepted a piece of toast from Gothel.

 _"_ _Uh-huh. Art's yours, right?"_

"Yeah, but we get equal lessons of everything else from what I've heard," Rapunzel remembered, spraying toast crumbs everywhere. "Hopefully we'll be in the same dance class."

 _"_ _Same. I don't want to lose my partner!"_

Rapunzel laughed her silver-bell laugh before glancing at the clock in the kitchen. Fifteen minutes before school started – she needed to move.

"Listen, Eugene, I'll see you outside the gates, okay? Running a little late," she said quickly, finishing her toast.

 _"_ _Sure – I'll see you there, Blondie."_

"Would you quit that? I've never been blonde!"

 _"_ _Yeah, yeah, whatever – you can't deny that it fits,"_ Eugene's teasing tone sounded down the receiver. Rapunzel stuck her tongue out and made a noise so that Eugene knew her reaction to his comment. _"_ _See you in ten, Rapunzel!"_

" _Tschüss_!" Rapunzel replied before hanging up. She walked over to the table and poured herself a glass of orange juice whilst Gothel sipped her mug of coffee.

"You two are so close," the black-curly-haired woman remarked warmly. Rapunzel smiled behind the glass.

"He's the closest friend I've ever had!" she shrugged. "Well, apart from Pascal," she added as a tiny green chameleon poked his tongue out at her from the aquarium on the counter. Rapunzel jogged over and quickly fed him his own breakfast – Pascal had travelled all the way from Germany to Burgess with Rapunzel and Gothel and was pretty much part of the family himself. Once she was satisfied that her reptilian friend had met his nutritional needs for the morning, Rapunzel grabbed her bag again as well as her guitar which was standing by the door before heading out the door and over to the lift.

* * *

Rapunzel rounded the corner quickly on her scooter to be greeted by the sight of the entire student body of Moonstone Arts Academy. To think they were the first year of the entire school – for this year at least, they had the place to themselves. The academy itself looked magnificent – Rapunzel had seen pictures online of how it was supposed to look once construction was completed but they didn't even come close to how the place really looked. There were three buildings in total – one contained studios for dance and drama, one held the art and music rooms and the third contained the academic classrooms. Rapunzel was so taken aback by the sight of her new school that she almost failed to notice a young man with chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes shouting her name.

"OI! BLONDIE!" It was Eugene.

"Hey!" Rapunzel greeted, locking her scooter on the rails and squeezing through the crowds to her childhood friend. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" she moaned teasingly.

"At least once more," Eugene winked. "Come on, I want you to meet somebody," he added with a smile, taking her arm and leading her through the crowds towards the main gate. Rapunzel's bright green eyes widened in interest.

"Made a new friend already?" she inquired.

"Met him a couple of days after I moved in – I live just down the road from him," Eugene replied. Rapunzel smiled – Eugene had always lived by himself since he'd been able to get out of care (he'd never known his parents and had grown up in an orphanage) and had moved to Burgess only a few days ago. The fact that he'd made a friend already in the town they would call home for the next three or so years made Rapunzel happy almost instantly.

"What's his name?" she asked.

"Patience is a virtue, Princess," Eugene shrugged with a playful grin as he used yet another of his childhood nicknames for Rapunzel (earning little else than another playful whack to the shoulder), casting his eyes around before he spotted someone by the gate. "Oh! There he is... Hey! Jack! Over here!"

Rapunzel jogged behind Eugene on tiptoe as she caught a glimpse of who her friend was waving to. The boy she saw was unlike any other she'd ever seen. His hair was a brilliant white, almost the colour of snow and his eyes were icy blue, twinkling with friendliness and mischief. He wore a plain white shirt, brown trousers and a royal blue waistcoat and when he smiled at the sight of Eugene, his teeth caught the sunlight like freshly fallen snow.

* * *

 **These last three chapters are fairly short, essentially one chapter split into three, so I decided to upload them all today. With that, you have the introduction of the rest of the team; the main Four as well as a handful of others. I'll see you guys on Sunday with the next update!**


	8. A 'Normal' Routine

_**A 'Normal' Routine**_

"Jack! Jack?"

"Hmmm...?" Jack groaned sleepily, pulling his duvet over his head. It had turned out that Mother Nature...or Aunt Emily-Jane as he was supposed to call her for a while...had added human sleeping habits to Jack's situation now that he was visible to the entire population and needless to say, as much as it was wonderful seeing little Emma again, Jack didn't appreciate her shouting down his ear in the morning.

"JACK! Get up, Sleepyhead!" Emma shrieked gleefully, jumping up onto her brother's bed and knocking the air out of his lungs.

"OOF!" Jack grunted, now fully awake. "Em!" he laughed, tickling the girl until she squirmed off the bed. "You've missed that, huh?" he smiled.

"Well, duh," Emma shrugged with a tiny grin, her fringe flopping over her eye as it usually did. Jack smiled with a tired chuckle as he took in the sight of his sister wearing a T-shirt and knee length skirt. He was used to seeing her in a dress but she suited the more modern getup that Mother Nature had kitted her out with. He swung his legs off the bed and sat up, running a hand through his white hair just as his mother showed up in the doorway – again, she kind of suited the whole tank-top, skinny jeans, pumps and cardigan look.

"Rise and shine, sweetie," the woman smiled from the doorway. Jack blushed at the nickname and his pale skin only made it more noticeable, making his mother chuckle warmly. It may have been three hundred years since he'd heard it and over a year since he'd remembered it, but Jack had missed that laugh. "Come on – you'll be late for your first day of school," she urged gently. Jack smirked sleepily with a small grumble as he shoved Emma off his chest and his duvet to the side, swinging his feet out of bed and sitting upright.

"Come on! Breakfast's already on the table," Emma grinned as she ran out of the room to let her brother get changed.

"Sure, sure – I'll be right down," Jack chuckled in reply as he stood up and began rooting around in a nearby chest of drawers for some clothes…dang, he'd had all summer to get used to this and he still found it strange to be changing clothes on a daily basis. In the end, he dug out a plain white T-shirt, brown trousers and a royal blue waist coat as well as a pair of white socks. Once dressed, he headed downstairs where Emma, his mother and Emily-Jane waiting in the kitchen, with Emily-Jane sipping a cup of mint tea.

"I'd forgotten you were such a sleepyhead," the Spirit of Nature remarked dryly.

"Good morning to you too," Jack greeted in equal cynicism. By the Moon, he'd barely made it through the summer with Mother Nature constantly breathing down his neck. How much longer was he supposed to put up with this? He grabbed a bowl and box of cereal as he walked over to the table, shaking the contents into the crockery as he went before smoothly sitting down, placing the cereal box on the table, grabbing the jug of milk and pouring some into his bowl pretty much all in one motion.

"Can't believe Jack's going to a dance school," Emma teased as she sipped a glass of orange juice. Despite knowing that Emma knew why this was happening, Jack still flushed furiously.

"It's an arts' school! Not just dance!" he protested. "Besides, I'm majoring in acting with Flynn, remember?"

"Still expecting to be the first to hear about you in the school musical, Big Brother," Emma snickered. Jack retaliated by throwing a napkin at her – jeez, like being crowned the King of May when he was sixteen hadn't been embarrassing enough.

"Jack!" his mother reprimanded. "No throwing things when you're at the table." Jack huffed – oh, yeah. House rules.

"Sorry…" he mumbled. Emily-Jane finished her tea and shot a glance at the clock on the wall.

"Hurry it up, Jack," she urged firmly. "School starts in half an hour. Didn't you say you were meeting up with…?" On cue the doorbell rang. Downing the last of his cereal, Jack sprang for the door.

"THAT'S MINE!" he yelled before his mother had a chance to move. He grabbed the door handle and threw the entrance to the house open to see Eugene standing on the porch, as expected. "Impeccable timing, Rider," Jack greeted. Although he knew the guy's name was Eugene, Jack tended to call him Flynn – Eugene had explained it was a childhood nickname and in all honesty he rarely answered to Eugene, except with a few select people.

"What can I say? 'Punctual' is my middle name," the guy replied with a smug shrug of his shoulders. "C'mon – I promised Rapunzel I'd meet her by the gates in ten." Jack nodded – Eugene had told him about his close friend, Rapunzel Corona, from their hometown back in Germany and how she would also be attending Moonstone. Now Jack had only known Eugene for a few days – in fact, he'd been the first to pop round to the guy's house for a neighbour-house-warming thing on his mother's suggestion – so he had yet to meet Rapunzel but he was looking forward to meeting her. Anyone who was a friend of Eugene was a friend of his, as far as Jack was concerned – he liked the guy enough.

"Be right with you," Jack noted, dashing back indoors to grab the rest of his things. "Come on in – grab a slice of toast if you need it." Eugene declined but shouted a 'hello' to the girls as he poked his head through the door. Jack grabbed a duffle-bag and slung it over his shoulder before he (albeit reluctantly) slipped his feet into a pair of blue sneakers. Batting away his mother's attempts to tame his wild white hair, Jack shouted a goodbye to his family before heading out onto the street with Eugene.

"Thanks for the last couple of days, by the way," Eugene suddenly piped up as they reached the end of the street. Jack was slightly startled by the comment and raised a confused eyebrow. "Just that I don't know how I would've started off in this town without someone to help out."

"Hey, don't mention it," Jack smiled. "Always happy to help," he added cheerily. He switched the conversation to the upcoming school year. "Looking forward to school?"

"Never thought I'd ever say it, but – yeah, I actually am," Eugene replied with an excited grin. "This place is the _piece du resistance_!" he exclaimed dramatically – no wonder he was majoring in acting. "State of the art, best teachers from around the entire globe and we've been selected to be a part of the first ever year of its history, my friend," he reeled off.

"You haven't even started there and you're already selling it like a pro!" Jack joked, shoving Eugene lightly as he resisted the urge to jump up onto a nearby fence. Not for the first time since agreeing to the task given to him by Manny, Jack noticed the slight warmth of the autumn air – it wasn't uncomfortable (in fact, Jack was barely bothered by temperature at all despite what others might think) but it was a change from him always being surrounded by cold. The wind still nipped almost teasingly at his ankles but Mother Nature had given it a stern talking-to explaining Jack's position.

Speaking of, Jack had been keeping an eye out for anyone who looked remotely like the faces Manny had shown him nearly all summer (whenever he wasn't stuck indoors studying…the memory spell had done its job but Jack had not found it fun in any way, shape or form) but so far, his searches had come up short. Hopefully he'd have more luck once he'd started class – the faces he'd seen, as far as he could remember, looked like teenagers to him, more or less. Thank the Moon that he knew for sure they were attending the school otherwise he wouldn't be wasting his time being stuck in Burgess regardless of what the Man in the Moon and Mother Nature said.

"What can I say? I've got a way with words," Eugene smirked. Jack smirked back and nudged his friend in the ribs again as they rounded a corner, coming to face Moonstone Arts Academy in all its new, state of the art glory. Jack couldn't hide a gulp – wow, the first time in three hundred plus years he'd been to school and it was _this_ place.

"By the stars, I'll be lucky to make it through a year…" he mumbled under his breath. Luckily Eugene didn't appear to have heard him so Jack cast his eyes around for a decent spot to rest before the gates opened before they were all nabbed by the other students and there was a fair crowd gathering already. He spied one just by the gate. "Hey, Flynn – I'm gonna head over to the gate. You see if you can find your girlfriend," he teased, jogging off before Eugene could make a sound of protest.

"Be right with you!" the guy called back. Okay…no protest then. Jack couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. Racing over to the spot by the gate, he swung his bag down to nab the spot and began to have a look at who he knew to be his fellow students. The group wasn't overly large – just big enough to fill up the pavement outside the academy at around a couple of hundred or so – but there was a real mix of people there. Glancing at the other side of the gate, Jack spotted a team of three – two girls, made up of a red-head and a Nordic Blonde; and a boy with a messy mop of hair to rival Jack's. Before he could have a chance to get anything else, he heard a shout.

"Hey, Jack! Over here!" Eugene yelled. Jack glanced over to see his waving friend and waved back, beckoning the guy over.

"Get over here, already – I'm not losing these prime seats," he replied. Eugene pushed through the crowd to the white-haired boy, half-dragging a girl with bright green eyes and a pixie-crop of brunette hair. "Hey," Jack greeted with a cheery wave. "You must be Rapunzel," he smiled, holding a hand out. The girl laughed breathlessly as she nodded and accepted the hand offered.

"Yeah, that's me," she replied. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure?" she pressed, casting a glance at Eugene.

"Goldie, meet Jackson Overland Frost – Jack, Goldie," Eugene introduced. Jack raised an eyebrow. Goldie? Rapunzel looked as far from a blonde as you could possibly get.

"I told you to drop that!" Rapunzel snapped jokingly, slapping Eugene lightly on the arm in jest. Jack chuckled alongside them. "Nice to meet you, Jack," Rapunzel smiled warmly, her bright green eyes glittering happily.

"Pleasure's all mine," Jack nodded back with his trademark grin. "You two long-time friends, huh?"

"Since we were yay-high," Eugene replied, holding his hand at about waist height. "Both flew in from Germany for this place." Jack raised his eyebrows impressively – wow, these two were close.

"You a local?" Rapunzel asked. Jack nodded and explained that he only lived a few blocks away from the academy. "You'll have to show me and Eugene around town some time." Jack assumed that due to settling into their new lives in Burgess, the pair had yet to fully explore the town.

"So…what's your major, Rapunzel?" he asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Oh, I'm a musician," Rapunzel explained. "I do love art, though – I'm taking that as my minor." Jack vaguely remembered the system at Moonstone as it had been explained to him. The students, while taught most areas of the curriculum including maths and English, specialised in the arts and chose one out of music, acting, dance and visual arts as their major. Their chosen subject would then be given the most slots on their timetable, followed by their minor should they opt for one. Every other subject was given an equal amount of lesson time otherwise. For instance: Jack's major was acting, so he spent ten lessons a week in that class (a double lesson a day). He had not opted for a minor so he spent four lessons a week on all of the other classes.

"Jack's majoring acting with me," Eugene explained. "You'll see – we'll be the leading men of the academy end-of-year production before you know it," he smirked in jest before Jack whacked him around the head with his bag. "OW! Kidding, man!"

"So went for art and not tech, then?" Jack asked Rapunzel, remembering that art was interchangeable with tech on the timetable. This was a class where students could learn about using the sound desks and the lighting and the like for the theatre and other such areas of art.

"You should see me with a laptop! I'm hopeless," Rapunzel giggled, tuck a stray lock of short hair behind her ear. Suddenly, Jack winced as something collided with the back of his head.

"Ow! Hey!" he yelped with an irritated pout as he whipped his head around to see the red-head girl from earlier holding her hands up in defence.

"Sorry! Didnae see you there!" she apologised with a heavy Scottish accent. Seeing her face, Jack frowned with a sense of recognition – that red hair looked familiar.


	9. Day One

_**Day One:**_

"Ow! Hey!" a yelp sounded from behind Merida as she tossed her apple core over her shoulder. The Scot winced and whipped her head around, her red curls flying into her face as she did so.

"Sorry!" she apologised quickly. "Didnae see you there!" The boy whose head had become the unwilling target for the apple core had startling white hair and icy blue eyes that glared at her irritably. Great…way to make new friends on your first day at school, DunBroch.

"Sorry about that!" Hiccup winced, peering around Merida's mane of fiery red. He noticed that the white-haired boy was with another guy – tall with dark brown hair and the beginnings of a goatee – and a girl just a tad taller than Merida at a guess with a brunette pixie-crop.

"If you were going for the bin, you have horrible aim, Miss Frizz," the white-haired boy pouted, indicating the bin about five feet away. Merida's apologetic stance vanished in an instance and Astrid grimaced – ooh, boy. He went there.

"I'll 'ave you know that I'm the best archer to come from the Highlands!" Merida protested. This time, it was the white-haired boy's turn to hold his hands up defensively.

"Okay, okay, okay! Jeez, I was joking!" he blurted out. "It's not that big of a deal." Hiccup hopped off his spot on the wall and walked over to break up the fight before it began – he fancied himself as a bit of a peacekeeper and hated it when needless bickering distracted him from whatever it was he was doing.

"Look, we really are sorry about that," he grimaced. "Didn't mean to…"

"Hey, I said it's no big deal – forget it," the white-haired boy sighed. "Just didn't expect to have something thrown at my head before the bell's even gone."

"I'll say it's a record even for us," Astrid chimed in, casting a glance at the boy's duffle bag. "Acting or dancing?" she guessed upon seeing no sign of a musical instrument or art set of any kind.

"Acting," the boy replied. "You lot?"

"Uh…Merida and I are dance majors," Hiccup replied, indicating himself and Merida. "I'm minor-ing in tech."

"And you?" the brunette girl asked Astrid who smiled with a hint of smugness.

"I'm going for a Joint Honours in music and dance," she replied proudly.

"Shut up!" the goatee boy spluttered. "Joint Major? Are you crazy?!"

"Nah – she's just competitive," Hiccup smirked without thinking. Astrid punched him lightly in the shoulder in response and the pair chuckled slightly. "So…um...what about you two?"

"Also, not sure if I caught your names," Merida cut in. The brunette girl stepped forward next to the white-haired boy, pulling her other friend forward with her.

"You've met Jack," she introduced, indicating the white-haired boy who nodded politely at the group. "This here's Eugene – he's also an acting major." Eugene smiled and placed a confident arm around the girl, squeezing her gently.

"And this here is Rapunzel, resident art major," he smiled proudly. The group shook hands, although Jack and Merida still seemed a bit cautious of each other, before settling down at the spot on the right-hand-side of the gate where Jack, Eugene and Rapunzel had been standing. They began talking, finishing the introductions and amicably talking about where they'd all originally come from and a few bits and pieces about their family lives…or, at least, what they were willing to share with people they'd only just met. Eugene wasn't overly keen on talking about his past and Merida didn't exactly jump at the chance to talk about her relationship with her mother so they decided to courteously let the subject drop for now. All the while, they, along with the two hundred odd other students filling the pavement, kept casting eager glances at their phones and watches in anticipation, waiting for the gates to finally open and allow them into the entrance hall to receive their timetables.

* * *

"Maths on a Monday morning?! Are you freaking kidding me?!" Hiccup cussed a little louder than he'd intended when he finally received his timetable. He'd gone over to a spot just under the main staircase where Rapunzel, Eugene and Merida were already waiting – Astrid should be the next to show up but given Jack's double-barrelled last name beginning with 'O', they'd have a while to wait for him.

"Guess they can't please everyone, huh?" Eugene sighed, looking at his own timetable. "They've stuck me in double English before lunch on Wednesday." Rapunzel peered over his shoulder and offered an optimistic smile.

"Double dance last thing on Friday, though – that's gotta count for something, right?" she pointed out, holding up her own timetable which showed the same thing – double dance on a Friday afternoon.

"Eh, at least they didn't plonk me in music first or last thing at any point during the week," Merida noted, scanning her timetable again. "Who's your dance teacher, by the way?" she asked.

"Uh…the one who specialises in the traditional styles is my main one – her name's listed as Mei-Mei," Rapunzel replied. Eugene double-checked his – yep, same teacher. "You?"

"The hip-hop, street-jazz and break-dance specialist – that Miguel bloke or something," Merida replied. "Whatever you do, _please_ donnae tell my mum," she pleaded. "She expects me to be in tha' ballet class," she shuddered. The group currently present all performed the motion of zipping their lips shut and throwing away the keys. Astrid ran over moments later.

"What I want to know is _who_ thought it was a good idea to put a _double free right before lunch_?!" she huffed loudly. "Isn't that kind of pointless?"

"They're supposed to be revision and rehearsal slots," Hiccup pointed out, digging out a pair of reading glasses from his bag and checking the fine print. "You're not supposed to just bunk off during those." Astrid mumbled something along the lines of _"_ _You suck the joy out of everything!"_ as Hiccup wiped the glasses on his shirt before stuffing them back into his bag. "How's your arts' schedule?"

"Double music Tuesday morning…double dance last thing on the same day…it's not too shabby," Astrid replied. "You?" Hiccup motioned for her to let her have a look at her timetable – Astrid obliged and Hiccup gave it a once over.

"We've got the same dance schedule by the looks of things," he smiled with relief. Rapunzel giggled slightly – it appeared that Hiccup and Astrid were also each other's dance partners, just like her and Eugene. Handing Astrid's timetable back to her, Hiccup took another look at the still large line of students and couldn't hide a snicker when he spotted Jack's white hair bobbing up and down with impatience. Poor guy. By the looks of it, the 'H's had just finished…seven letters to go.

"Who's up for leaving Snow White over there to track down the homeroom?" Merida snickered slightly. Rapunzel slapped her shoulder lightly.

"Merida!" she reprimanded. "Don't be so mean!" Merida laughed slightly and protested that she was joking although Hiccup had a sneaking suspicion that if she could have gotten away with it, she would have left Jack in the line to collect his timetable and then find the homeroom alone. He kept his suspicions to himself though – Merida seemed like the kind of girl that could easily take him out with a punch or two and Hiccup didn't exactly fancy that because one: Astrid was already that kind of girl and he didn't need to worry about another one and two: …actually maybe it was just the one reason.

It took about another half-hour, although it felt a lot longer to a group of restless teens, but Jack finally received his timetable and practically ran over to join the group.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting," he mumbled in apology. "How're your timetables looking?"

"Relatively decent – yours?" Eugene replied. Jack skimmed his, clearly having barely looked at it since receiving it.

"Uh…looks okay, I guess," he shrugged. "Looks like my dance teacher's the traditional-dance-forward-slash-tap specialist," he remarked, failing to cover up a dry pout. Rapunzel took no notice of it.

"Oh, great! Looks like you're in our dance class, then," she grinned, tugging Eugene's arm. Eugene also grinned at his friend. "Do we know whose homeroom we're all in?" Rapunzel added. A rustling automatically sounded as everyone checked their timetables again. There were frowns as people squinted to find their homeroom teacher but Jack's attention was caught by a flicker of moonlight blue-white. By the looks of things, no one else seemed to notice it but Jack knew that Manny was stepping in some-way-somehow. It was brief and it might be likely that only a Guardian could see it but whatever the Top Man had done, Jack had no idea why it was for these people. He decided to ask Emily-Jane about it when he got home.

"I've got Mrs B. Reine for my homeroom teacher," Hiccup noted.

"Snap on that," Astrid cut in.

"Whoa – match ya both letter for letter here," Merida blinked in surprise. Jack looked at his timetable – sure enough, the name 'B. Reine was written for his homeroom sessions.

"Does everyone here have Mrs Reine, first name: Belle?" he asked. Rapunzel and Eugene both nodded. "Huh. What're the odds?" he added blankly although secretly he had a pretty good idea.

"Looks like homeroom's on the second floor according the map in the school pack," Merida noted. Jack frowned as he dug his own map out of the pack.

"Don't you mean the third floor?" he asked. Merida glared at him in confusion.

"No, I mean the _second_ floor," she snapped.

"We're on the first floor now, Ginger," Jack pointed out dryly. "Two floors up is the _third floor_!"

"We're on the _ground floor_ now, Snow White!" Merida retorted. "Two floors up is the _second floor_!" Rapunzel decided to step in and explain that the American way of numbering floors differed to that in the UK, which included Merida's native Scotland. Jack remarked that Merida could have just told him that from the start without blowing her top but all that earned him was a sharp punch to the shoulder blades from the feisty redhead.

* * *

"Alright, everyone – that ends the intro session," the ballet teacher noted, getting up from her perfectly crossed-legged position on the floor. Hiccup, Astrid and the rest of their new dance classmates followed her. Miss Murphy certainly was a cheery young woman, eager to start her teaching career although she'd been the dancing profession itself for quite some time. As such, the students could already tell that she was not going to be a pushover, just like every other teacher had been that day. "Now, I'm not going to waste time teaching you the basics – I know for a fact that you're all into your advanced ballet grades at the very least otherwise you would not be in my class," she said with a simple, blunt but still upbeat tone.

"So, what _will_ the curriculum entail?" Astrid asked as Miss Murphy sent them over to the bar to warm up. Hiccup lagged behind a little and tugged at his dance shoe laces. Miss Murphy didn't notice as she answered Astrid's question.

"I'll be teaching you some things that are the level you're at, as expected," she replied. "But I will also be throwing in some tougher moves to give you a challenge – this wouldn't be a state of the art school if we didn't test you lot, would it?" she winked, her short brown hair tucked neatly behind her ears by a white headband. She suddenly noticed Hiccup lagging behind. "You alright there, Mr. Haddock? And didn't your acceptance letter say 'dance leggings'? Not joggers?"

"Grew out of my old ones," Hiccup excused quickly, sticking his hands nervously in his dark green joggers. "Lot of growth spurts plus…" he hesitated. "My…dad's not overly supportive about the whole dance thing, Miss," he admitted. Miss Murphy frowned.

"What about your mother?" she asked. Hiccup instinctively flinched, as did Astrid, as his hand subconsciously drifted to a tiny scar on his chin. Miss Murphy knew instantly that she'd stepped into sensitive territory. "Did…something happen, Mr Haddock?" she asked tentatively.

"I'd…rather not talk about it, Miss," Hiccup replied. He really did not need to remember that and he certainly did not want to talk about it in front of the class. Miss Murphy nodded in understanding.

"Alright," she sighed. "But I expect to see you wearing the proper gear before this semester's finals, alright?" she warned. Hiccup gulped slightly, an action that went unnoticed by all but Astrid, but nodded nonetheless. Miss Murphy then began leading the class through the necessary warm ups for advance ballet training and the music began playing. As soon as it did and Hiccup had placed his hand on the rail, all of his worries seemed to vanish.

"Welcome to your new home, Hiccup," Astrid whispered happily in Hiccup's ear before Miss Murphy hushed her. Hiccup felt a smile stretching across his face as the warm-ups progressed. For a moment, he closed his eyes and simply took a moment to take in his surroundings. Before long, Hiccup felt as if there were fire at his feet but not in the way often said in mythology, where someone might be cursed to dance on coals or something or other. This fire was warm...empowering...Hiccup didn't know how else to explain how it felt when he danced apart from using that kind of analogy.

This was the world in which he belonged.

* * *

A hoot of cheers and claps went around the hip-hop/break-dance/street-jazz class just before the lunch break. Merida shook her loose curls out of her face and grinned wildly – after the class warm ups, the teacher – a guy who insisted on his class calling him by his first name, Miguel – had set up a challenge for each student to show off what they considered to be either their best or the most challenging move they could perform. Merida had just finished with her turn and she was pretty proud of her move – windmill followed by pushing herself into a one-handed handstand of sorts. It was a very difficult move to pull off so she was incredibly pleased that hours of secret practise away from her mum's sight had paid off.

"Nice!" Miguel complimented. "Sweet move, Merida – who taught you that one?"

"Well...I kinda taught mi'self a lot of what I know," Merida replied, tossing her ponytail back over her shoulder. "Give me a challenge and I wonnae stop until I get it right."

"This one has guts, guys!" Miguel announced enthusiastically. "Hope this is the same for you all." A loud hoot sounded through the class. "That's what I'm talking about! Now let's get the rest of this party rolling."

Merida had never felt more at home than in this dance studio. Surrounded by people with the same kind of mindset when it came to dance and with skills that matched and rivalled her own, this was a haven away from her mother that she was more than happy to escape to. Most people would be daunted by school and, indeed, Merida had never been a fan of it when she was younger. But this place was different. Merida knew that this was a school that she would gladly answer her alarm for in the morning.

As the class began going through the routine for the term, Merida felt the elation that only this kind of dancing had ever given her. The way her body moved when she danced...Merida could only describe it as feeling like a river. Ever changing but always moving.

This was the way she wanted to live her life.

* * *

"HA!" Jack cried gleefully as his foot stomped on the floor on the final note of the hornpipe that Mei-Mei had been playing. The dance was a miniature competition to get the students warmed up and while everyone had skills in traditional dances, Jack and Rapunzel had been the ones in the final face-off. Rapunzel panted a little as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"Didn't realise you were so good!" she exclaimed, slightly out of breath. Jack ran a hand through his hair and took a private moment to admire his own skills – he had no idea that after all these years he'd actually remember such steps like that. Not that anyone was to know...except maybe Emma, his mother and the other Guardians. North was never going to let him live this one down.

"You're not so bad yourself," Jack said back, just about stopping himself saying _"_ _You know what? Neither did I."_

"You've got competition, Blondie," Eugene chuckled. Rapunzel shot him a pout.

"I AM NOT BLONDE!" she huffed in a playful sulking tone. Mei-Mei, the traditional dance teacher, stepped in before the couple could get into one of their, as she called them once she found out that there was an actual couple in her class, 'couple spats' (too many 'couple's in one sentence).

"Now, now – let's not tear each other up before we've hit midterms," she chuckled. "I know dance is competitive business but we're all cool in this classroom, right?"

Jack shot glances at Rapunzel and Eugene and nodded with matching smirks. Yeah, they were cool. In all honesty, Jack was amazed at how easy he'd found it to slot into the environment he'd been put into by the other Guardians. To his amazement...he was _enjoying_ himself!

 _Wow, don't get ahead of yourself, Frost_ , he thought to himself as the class continued.

Before long the bell had gone for break and before any of the students even had time to realise it, the first day at Moonstone Arts Academy was over. Jack met the others by the gate and they began exchanging stories of their first day (which included Hiccup making a few grumbled comments about needing new dance leggings) before going their separate ways home. As he headed down the road where his home now existed, Jack smiled as he spotted a familiar face round the corner, accompanied by two other kids – a boy and a girl – who looked a lot like each other.

"Hey! Jamie!" he called. The boy stopped in his tracks for a moment before turning around and grinning gleefully upon seeing the Guardian of Fun.

"Jack!" Jamie greeted, waving wildly. He turned to his two companions as they handed him a book of some kind. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, kay?"

"Catch you later, Jay-Jay!" the girl, who was wearing braces and a brightly coloured, oversized sweater called as she and (Jack assumed he was) her brother began heading off in the opposite direction.

"See ya, Jamie!" the boy added before turning to his sister. Jack caught one last thing before they went out of earshot. "Must you _insist_ on giving everyone nicknames like that?"

By this time, Jamie was already running over and once he'd reached Jack, threw his arms around his midriff. Jack stumbled slightly but hugged back, ruffling Jamie's hair slightly.

"What're you doing here?" Jamie asked excitedly. "It's a bit early for frost, isn't it?"

"Eh...other Guardian stuff," Jack shrugged, knowing he could talk relatively freely about this kind of thing with his first believer. "Which just so happens to include school."

"Since when does a Guardian need to go to school?" Jamie snickered despite himself.

"The others are calling it 'body guarding' – personally, I calling it 'babysitting'," Jack explained dryly. Jamie snorted with laughter. "Ah, quiet you," Jack reprimanded playfully. "It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be...for day one, that is."

"What? You're at Moonstone?" Jamie realised. Jack nodded with a 'yep' of confirmation. "Wow! I hear that place was super hard to get into." Jack noted that he really got lucky for this one – he'd found out in music early that day that he actually had a decent singing voice and he wasn't doing too badly in his other subjects either. "So who're you guarding anyway? And, more importantly, _why_?" This kid didn't miss a thing, did he?

"Well, as to _why_...Man in the Moon sensing some disturbances in the Shadows," Jack explained with a shudder. Jamie also shivered visibly. "Probably nothing we can't handle. As to who...there are a few kids at school the others want me to keep an eye on," he continued. "Manny thinks they'll be targeted – he didn't say why." _Then again, he doesn't exactly explain much anyway_ , Jack added to himself, possibly more bitterly than he meant to.

"Will I know 'em?" Jamie asked. Jack thought back to the images he'd been shown a few months ago at the Tooth Palace and then thought back to his numerous classmates. His ice-blue eyes then flashed with realisation.

The images, while they'd been fuzzy, had shown a boy and two girls. The boy had possessed dark auburn hair; one of the girls had been a redhead; and the other had short brown hair as well as bright green eyes.

Oh, of all coincidences to ever happen...this was mildly ridiculous. That or the Fates were messing with him.

"They're relatively new to the area, I think," Jack replied. "A guy called Henrik Haddock? Calls himself Hiccup." Jamie scrunched his face in concentration to try and remember if he knew the guy.

"Pippa says he's one of her new neighbours, I think," he frowned. "Said he's always hanging out with a blonde girl?"

"That'll be Astrid," Jack explained. "Uh...one of them's a red-head...any of you know Merida at all?"

"She the one with the really, really curly hair?" Jamie checked. Jack nodded. "Yeah – I think we've seen her around a few times over the last few weeks. She's hard to miss. Lives near the forest, if I remember right."

"The last one's a girl called Rapunzel," Jack continued. It was hard to believe that he'd actually become fast friends with the very people he was supposed to keep an eye on within one day of being at Moonstone. He'd ask Em-Jay if he could have an audience with the Fates at some point to ask about this because if they were watching over this...well, it _had_ kind of made his job a bit easier so if that was the case he wanted to say thanks. "And, no, she doesn't have long blonde hair."

"Not sure about her," Jamie replied. "Well, I hope everything goes okay," he smiled in encouragement. Jack smiled back in thanks when he spotted the book that Jamie was carrying – it was a largish red hardback book with a golden six-fingered hand plastered on the front.

"That looks interesting," he remarked. "Good book?" Jamie glanced at it.

"Oh, yeah! My neighbours, Dipper and Mabel, just got back from holiday," he answered, indicating where his two friends had just walked off. "Their great-uncle's big into supernatural stuff. They spent all summer at his."

"Are these the Pine twins you sometimes hang out with?" Jack guessed. Jamie nodded.

"Yeah – they've got two other journals beside this one," he explained. "You should drop by some time."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jack promised. "I'd better head home – see you around, kid."

"See ya, Jack!" Jamie waved as he headed home. As the kid disappeared into his house, Jack smiled and relaxed a little – somehow, being part of this community was a release in its own way from the isolation that sometimes came with being a Guardian. Even if he couldn't use his powers as long as Mother Nature allowed him to be seen by all mortals, Jack still felt happy and content. He knew he had a mission to do, but for now, all seemed to be well. He knew exactly who his charges were and he could easily keep an eye on them.

You know, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Deep in the shadows of twisted trees, a small cottage stood silently. If you were an avid watcher of horror movies, you would know to stay well clear of a place like it. The building itself was rickety and the door swung with loud screeches that rivalled the sound of nails on a blackboard. The inside looked inviting enough, with a large stove and weaving loom set up, as well as a cat and dog snoozing by the fire.

In the flickering light of the stove, the silhouette of the cottage's...well, more of a shack than a cottage...occupant flittered in and out of view of the windows. The silhouette was that belonging to a woman, not too old but at the same time not young. She held a careful posture that was graceful yet calculating as she paced across the creaky floorboards of her abode. As she passed, the cat and dog curled up tighter than before and shuddered slightly.

"The Fates have been kind to me, it seems," the woman remarked. "All of my desired prey in one place..." she added, staring almost wistfully out of the window. The tree branches seemed to part for her to reveal the town of Burgess on the other side of the forest. A smirk crossed the woman's face. "Escape won't be so easy this time."

"What's...your plan of action?" the cat meowed. Yes, the cat talked. The dog was also capable of human speech, mainly because the woman had felt it beneficial for her own needs. A witch needed her familiars, after all, and she couldn't exactly speak animal.

"We'll wait it out a while longer," the woman replied calmly. "I need the perfect circumstances...they aren't quite ready yet."

"How come?" the dog barked nervously. The woman let out a hoarse but short laugh.

"You know how I don't like missing my meals," she chortled darkly. "But I've never had one that's gotten away from me twice."

* * *

 **And so the team joins together for the first time and we get our first glimpse at the villain of the story. I won't reveal too much about her as of now, but I will say that she is a figure from a story I used to read as a child. Feel free to make your guesses, I really enjoy hearing reader theories. See you guys on Sunday with the next update!**


	10. Post Midterm Updates

_**Post Midterm Updates:**_

The first term at Moonstone Arts Academy seemed to fly past before anyone really realised what was going on. Before the students knew it, midterm exams for each of the major arts subjects had come and gone (Hiccup had managed to meet his deadline of getting new dance leggings before the finals but he still insisted on wearing additional leg warmers, pointing out that his medical form said he had very bad circulation in his hands and feet and thus they needed to be kept warm at all times) and everyone was now focusing the majority of their attention to the term finals which would happen just before Christmas. At least...some people were.

"Sign-up sheets are being passed around for the Academy's dance competition," Belle Reine announced the morning after midterm break in homeroom (or 'Form Time' as Merida kept calling it). "It's a chance for everyone to show off their own individual skills outside of the classroom – personally I'd encourage as many of you as possible to take part, especially with your scores from the midterms."

"I'm guessing this is an individual contest, Mrs Reine?" one of the students, a girl with a New Orleans accent named Tiana, asked, raising her hand as she did so. Jack, Hiccup, Eugene, Merida, Rapunzel and Astrid were all sitting at their cluster of desks examining the leaflet advertising the competitions. Over the last half a term, they'd become seriously close. Outside of class, it was rare to not see them all sitting together at their favourite spot by the gate or hanging out with each other around town. Jack and Hiccup got along like brothers, with Hiccup often being the one to keep Jack from doing anything completely reckless; Astrid and Merida seemed like twins separated at birth; Rapunzel had become like a little sister to Hiccup and Merida, just as Eugene had become fast friends with Jack; and this was all topped off with the occasional spats between the feisty Merida and the frosty-haired Jack. No one knew exactly why – those two just seemed to find an excuse to get down each other's throats a lot.

"Yes, Tiana," Belle confirmed. "Each participant is judged individually but each part of the contest will test a different skill-set of dance. Interested in signing up?"

"Well...not really," Tiana admitted. "Outside curricular stuff...I don't have time for dancing. I'm working on my music." Belle smiled as if to say 'fair enough' before a boy (from overseas – Macedonia, in fact) called Naveen began saying that Tiana just didn't want to compete because she didn't want to show everybody else up – it was no secret to the form that Naveen, whilst a ladies' man in general, had a thing for Tiana and for a time she'd retaliated to his charms by whacking him over the head with a book every now and then, although in the lead up to the midterms they'd started to get on better terms.

"Well, never mind showin' anybody up – coun' me in!" Merida grinned, holding her hand up for a sign-up sheet. Belle passed her one and the Scottish red-head quickly scribbled her name down before turning to the others in her group of friends. "Anyone else interested?"

"Could be fun – beats studying," Jack shrugged with a small smirk (contrary to what Tooth had said the previous summer, despite somehow _liking_ Moonstone and attending it as a school, Jack still had a major dislike for actual studying. In fact, outside the practical arts exams for the midterms, Jack had just about scraped passes), making a motion with his hand for the sheet. Merida passed it over her shoulder to him as he dug out a pen.

"I'm all for a little competition myself," Astrid admitted slyly. Jack handed the sheet to her next.

"Yeah, you should've seen her back home," Hiccup chuckled. "Every single time we had karaoke night or were out at the rhythm games at the arcade Astrid would leave us in the dust."

"Says the guy who managed to beat _Guitar Hero_ on _Expert+ Mode_ for the drums," Astrid pointed out with a playful pout. Eugene sat up with his eyes wide in admiration and Rapunzel looked stunned.

"No way!" she exclaimed. "We've got to have a jam someday – I'll take the guitar on _Expert_ and you take the drums!" she suggested with an excited grin.

"Teach me your ways, _Senpai_!" Eugene begged.

"It was that one time!" Hiccup protested. "Besides, you should see Astrid on _Dance Nation_." Astrid thwacked his shoulder for that and threatened to do the same to anybody who pressed for the full story. Needless to say, Jack's curiosity was now piqued. However, he noticed that Hiccup hadn't gone to write his name down for the dance contest.

"You gonna sign up, man?" he asked. Hiccup blinked in confusion at the sudden change in conversation for a moment before glancing at the sign-up sheet.

"Nah – I've already said I'd help out with the tech for stuff like this," he explained. "Besides me, it's just Jim and that exchange student from San Fransokyo on the tech team..."

"That Tadashi guy?" Merida remembered. Hiccup nodded. "I hear he's breaking the hearts of tons of girls in the school," she added with a mock adoring tone to her voice.

"Oh, come on!" Jack exclaimed with a huff. "He's not _that_ good looking..."

"Tell that to the group of girls stalking him outside the tech room at lunch," Hiccup grimaced.

"He's got someone back home, hasn't he?" Astrid thought. Hiccup shrugged – the heck he knew! The only thing Tadashi had ever said about Honey Lemon (apparently it was a nickname but how'd she gotten stuck with that?!) was that she was a lovely girl who made doing chemistry in heels and with your hair _down_ most of the time (even Merida with her apparent lack of concern for danger knew that was _incredibly_ hazardous!) look like the most fun you could ever have on the face of the planet.

"Anyway! Back on topic," Eugene cut in. "That's still two guys on tech, Hiccup. And you got the highest dance marks for ballet in the school!" Hiccup flushed and averted his gaze to his desk where his suddenly found something interesting with the wood grain.

"Come on, Hiccup!" Rapunzel pressed. "I'm sure you'll do great!" Hiccup didn't say anything in reply but Astrid stepped in for him.

"Look, if he doesn't want to take part, leave it at that," she argued, a little more snappishly than perhaps she'd meant. She calmed down and offered the sign-up sheet to Eugene and Rapunzel. "What about you two? You up for it?"

"Sure – why not?" Eugene shrugged, accepting the sheet of paper and scribbling his name down. He then passed the paper to Rapunzel and she began writing – after a moment or two she raised her hand for Belle to come over and collect the sheet.

"Alright – first rounds are in a couple of weeks," the homeroom teacher smiled as she scanned the names. "You'll get details about it soon. Good luck!" she added cheerfully as she went to check the rest of the announcements. As she did and her voice faded into the background, Hiccup's phone buzzed in his pocket (for now it was on vibrate mode but the guy had a rather cheesy ring tone so you couldn't blame him).

"Di'ja father finally get back to you on that Skype video message you left him at the start of term?" Merida groaned sympathetically as Hiccup pulled his (flip) phone out of his pocket and examined it under the desk.

"Nope, and to be perfectly frank I've given up expecting an answer," he replied cynically. Astrid hissed a reproachful _"_ _Hiccup!"_ in his ear but it went ignored.

"What is it, then?" Rapunzel asked curiously. Hiccup's face lit up.

"Well, I signed up for that theatre tickets thing that was advertised at the start of term..." he explained. The others knew what he was talking about. Moonstone had set up an agreement with local theatres (both cinemas and stage) to allow students attending the Academy to get discounts on tickets. If they signed up for a subscription to a theatre service, they could get notifications on what shows were playing and where, as well as get primary choice of seats. A lot of students had signed up, including Hiccup who now received emails on a fortnightly basis on what was playing in the area. "...and there's a showing of _Billy Elliot_ going on at the theatre close by," he finished. Astrid's eyes sparkled.

"Whoa! We haven't seen that one since..." she trailed off but quickly covered herself up. "Well, you know – your sixteenth, right?"

"That your favourite musical or something, Hiccup?" Jack asked. Hiccup nodded in reply. "Can't say I've seen it myself," Jack admitted.

"Cannae say I've ever been a fan of ballet but the show itself is pretty good," Merida shrugged. "Also – the kid going against his parent's expectations for him...I sympathise."

"Anybody up for a night out this weekend?" Hiccup offered. A murmuring of agreement sounded through the friendship group and Hiccup's crooked smile, which everyone who met him found to be rather endearing, widened happily. "Great! I'll book things up this evening," he smiled, hammering the keypad to give himself a reminder.

As homeroom came to a close, everyone began spreading out across the school to attend their various classes. That morning, Hiccup was due for English followed by tech; Astrid had music, Rapunzel and Eugene had dance; Merida had the misfortune to be stuck in maths; and Jack was heading off for a single of art. As he headed towards the art rooms, Jack couldn't help but smile – he'd known these guys for less than a term and already it felt as if he'd known them longer. Was it something to do with the missing Earth Guardians? No...Jack didn't even know yet if they'd actually taken a human form yet.

Speaking of the Earth Guardians, had he ever been told what their names were? Jack racked his brains to see if he could remember whether or not the other Guardians had told him the names of the Guardians of Spring, Summer and Autumn. However, he came up blank. Nothing in his admittedly iffy memory banks gave him any indication that he knew the names of his supposed fellow Earth Guardians. Eh, maybe he'd ask Emily-Jane about it later. The Earth Guardians _were_ her aides after all – surely she'd know.

Either way, Jack had been attending the Academy for just over half a term now and he still hadn't gotten so much of a whiff of trouble. No black feathers like the ones Bunny had found in the Warren, no creepy high pitched laugh...not even any Nightmares.

"Some 'body-guarding' mission," Jack muttered as he headed into his art class. As expected, his work for the term was waiting on the rack to be continued – now Jack was hardly an artist so it wasn't exactly a masterpiece but he was trying to draw inspiration from the patterns that his frost created. After all, creating individual frost and snowflake patterns that were unique every single time was an art form in itself, in Jack's humble opinion so he did his best to translate his usual work from everyday surfaces using ice to paper using pencil, ink and paint.

* * *

"I'm home!" Jack called as he walked through the door that evening, just as the sun had touched the horizon behind the forest nearby. Emma was already at the kitchen table doing homework of her own. To keep up appearances, Emma was attending the local school with Jamie and his friends whilst Jack attended the Academy.

"Dance overrun again?" she asked, looking up from what looked like a maths paper. Jack shuddered at the mere sight of it.

"Yeah – there's a dance contest coming up," he explained. "The others, bar Hiccup, and I have signed up – need to get in all the practise I can," he shrugged. Emma snorted with laughter. "Oh, quiet!" Jack snapped playfully.

"I'm sorry," Emma giggled. "It's just...MOM!" she suddenly yelled. "Jack's going up for King of the May again!"

"AM NOT!" Jack shouted, blushing bright red again. His mother poked her head through the door from preparing dinner in the kitchen.

"I heard something about a dance contest – that right, honey?" she chuckled.

"Yes, and it has _nothing_ to do with May Day!" Jack protested, shooting a mock glare at his little sister.

"How comes Hiccup's not taking part?" Emma asked once her fit of giggles had subsided. Jack shrugged.

"Personal reasons which he neglected to share with us," he replied, slinging his bag onto a nearby chair and heading through to help out in the kitchen. As he headed in, he noticed that Emily-Jane wasn't in her usual spot by the counter with a mug of green tea as she normally was when he came home. "Aunt Jane out?" he asked dryly. His mother caught his tone and tapped him lightly with a spatula.

"Watch your tone, Jack," she warned. Jack mumbled an apology. "And yes, she is out. She should be back soon – she was getting an update on the situation from the other Guardians." Jack silently celebrated – it was about time an update came by! The wind suddenly rattled the windows and sent a draught all the way from under the front door, causing Emma to yelp and draw her feet up onto the chair. "Oh!" Jack's mother cried in irritation. Jack was already on the case.

"Yeah, yeah! I know!" he called. "Calm down, would you? The job's taking longer than expected!" he huffed. The wind seemed to moan in response. "By the moon...I'm doing my best, okay, but I'm not available for now – you know that." Another window rattle. "And mind the windows!" A howl sounded down the chimney. "I'll make it up to you next year, okay?"

The wind seemed to subside for now but Jack looked a bit dejected. Emma finished making sure none of her homework had been blown off the table before glancing at her brother.

"The wind sure misses you, huh?" she noted. Jack nodded.

"Yeah – it's coming up to Halloween," he explained with a sad shrug. "We always start spreading the frost in the Northern Hemisphere around this time...also we take the opportunity to play a few pranks on Bunny," he added with a smirk.

"Good to see some things haven't changed," his mother snickered. Jack's hand flew to his hair...come on, really? The wind suddenly seemed to shriek again momentarily before ceasing completely – the Overland-Frosts winced. They knew why that had happened. Seconds later, Mother Nature, in her humble human guise, walked in through the front door.

"Ah, Jack – you beat me home. That's a first," she remarked, almost pleasantly surprised when she saw Jack standing in the kitchen with his mother. She passed Emma and ruffled her hair slightly. "Hey, Em," she greeted.

"Nice to see you too, Aunt Jane," Jack greeted as he began preparing some vegetables. "Any news from your travels?" he asked, almost politely. Emma made a small remark under her breath about it but it went ignored (that or Jack pretended to have not heard it).

"Everyone's still looking," Emily-Jane replied. "Even Pitch," she added. Jack looked up in surprise. "He's got enough control over those Nightmares of his to send out scouts in the Shadows," Emily-Jane explained. "After all, that is a realm you Guardians cannot touch."

"Fair enough," Jack shrugged. "I'm still on the fence about that guy," he noted.

"I don't blame you," Emily-Jane sighed. "After what he did to you all last year...I'm not surprised that you have trust issues concerning him." Jack sighed heavily, thinking back to the events that had led to him becoming a Guardian of Childhood.

"The thing is, I understand why he did it," he remembered. Emma fell silent in putting her things away and her mother put the spatula she was using down as her son fell into thought. "I mean...I was in the same position as him! Nobody believed in him." Jack trailed off for a moment. "He...he just wanted to be seen again...to not be alone."

"Like you?" Emma whispered. Jack walked over and hugged her close to let her know he was okay. Emily-Jane nodded in understanding – of all the spirits of the supernatural world, she took a neutral stance in most matters. As such she hadn't intervened the previous year when Pitch had attacked the Guardians. This time, however, her own Aides were required to put things right so she was taking more of an active role this time. Her powers were far too formidable to be used in combat without being noticed but if both the realms of Moonlight and of Shadow were being threatened, Emily-Jane knew that she couldn't avoid this conflict by acting neutral.

"You're not like Pitch, Jack," Emma comforted her now silent brother. "You know that."

"I know," Jack murmured, breaking the hug before turning back to face the woman who was essentially his boss. "So...have we got anything else?" he asked. "The other Earth Guardians, maybe?"

"There's no trace of them among spirits," Emily-Jane confirmed. "I have every reason to believe they've chosen human incarnations for this lifetime." Jack's mind flashed back to his friendship with the others at school. Things were starting to click.

"The guys you told me to keep an eye on," he realised.

"Very possibly," Emily-Jane nodded. "How're they faring, by the way?" Jack shrugged.

"Leading pretty normal lives as far as I can tell – we've got a trip out at the weekend," he explained with a small grin. "Hiccup's booking theatre tickets." Emily-Jane gave Jack a warning frown.

"I hope you're taking this seriously," she said softly. "I don't want the only Season Spirit I've got a tag on to slack off on the job."

"I'm not slacking off!" Jack protested. "I am keeping an eye on them, just like you asked. But I'm also trying to be, quote-unquote, 'normal'!" he added with air quotes. "And 'normal' teens hang out at the weekends."

"It's true – before midterms started they'd be out most Saturdays," Jack's mother admitted.

"Thank you!" Jack huffed in relief. Emily-Jane just raised an eyebrow at him. "Besides, nothing's happened yet that I need to protect them from," he explained. "No...feathers or whatever Bunny saw...no nothing," he added. Emily-Jane sighed.

"Okay, fine," she muttered. "Just wanted to make sure." Jack decided to ask the question that had been bugging him for a while now – the names of the Earth Guardians.

"Say, about the Earth Guardians...Season Spirits...whatever," he began, pulling up a chair at the table. "I mean, I know my real name right now is supposedly Jokul Frosti and whatnot but...what about the others?"

"Why do you ask?" Emily-Jane quizzed, genuinely surprised.

"Just curious," Jack replied offhandedly. "Don't think I ever got told who my old comrades were," he added with a slightly dramatic change in tone. Man, he'd been spending way too much time with Eugene.

"Well, 'comrades' isn't exactly how I'd put it," Emily-Jane shrugged slightly, boiling the kettle and pouring herself a mug of...yep, green tea. Emma, deciding to join the conversation, asked why. "I don't think I've ever known spirits to be so different to one another and yet so close."

"So Jack had some serious BFFs in a past life," Emma teased.

"Where'd you even pick up the term 'BFFs'?" Jack questioned.

"What? The girls say it all the time in school!"

"You could all throw one heck of a party when it suited you, that's for sure," Emily-Jane chuckled. "Though you...the old you, that it...and Sol always had something or other against each other."

"Uh...Sol?" Jack repeated with a frown.

"Sol Himmel – she's the Summer Guardian," Emily-Jane explained. Jack nodded in understanding – the Guardian of Courage and Prosperity, master of the Water element. "Probably the most spirited of the lot of you. She didn't stay in one place for very long."

"Sounds like she would have gotten along fine with Jack," Jack's mother piped up.

"Oh, trust me – cleaning up after one of Sol's spats with Jokul was more work than keeping track of evolution," Emily-Jane remarked. Jack smirked slightly – he wished he could remember. Then again, with a new life came new memories. He knew that much. "You got along well with Hosten and Fleur, though."

"Spring and Autumn?" Jack guessed.

"Yes, but the other way round," Emily-Jane nodded. "Hosten Redleaf is the Autumn Spirit, Guardian of Knowledge and Change and Master of Fire. Fleur Rampion is the Spirit of Spring..."

"Guardian of Life and Creativity, Master of Earth...well, besides you," Jack remembered, committing the names to memory.

"Well, she's more in command of flowers and plants," Emily-Jane shrugged. "I take care of the heavy lifting." Jack assumed that meant earthquakes and volcanoes and what have you.

"What were they like?" he asked.

"Hosten tended to be pretty quiet," Emily-Jane recalled. "Studious type, obviously, but never afraid to have fun. I still marvel at that pet of his..." she muttered the last part under her breath and moved on before Jack or anyone else in the house could press her further. "Fleur was a sweetheart. She could get along with anybody – fantastic flower arranging skills, might I add." Jack and Emma couldn't help but chuckle. Emily-Jane paused before speaking again. "Look, it's more likely than not that these friends of yours are my Aides," she murmured. "All the more reason you need to keep an eye on them – they won't know their heritage nor will they be able to defend themselves in their mortal forms."

"Got it," Jack nodded solemnly. "I'll be careful," he promised. Emily-Jane expressed her thanks when the announcement for dinner was made. Jack spent the meal in relative silence, left pondering the spirits he'd once known but completely forgotten.

He suddenly felt even happier that he'd found the people he now considered the closest friends he'd had in centuries.

* * *

 **I am SO sorry I missed the update yesterday! University has just started up again so I completely forgot.**

 **EDIT: I've been asked about this in reviews (and this will go into the trivia section of my profile), in regards to the names of the Season Spirits. Hosten and Sol came from the Norwegian 'høst' and 'sol' meaning 'autumn' and 'sun' respectively. 'Himmel' is German for 'Sky', so Sol's name literally translates to 'sun sky', which I felt was very reminiscent of summer. Fleur Rampion comes from the French for 'flower' and the name of the plant from the original Grimms' fairytale, _Rapunzel_ (in fact, that's where the name comes from).**


	11. Partner Work

_**Partner Work:**_

"That was... _*sniff*_...amazing..." Rapunzel gulped into the penultimate tissue of the pack she was clutching in one hand as she and the others exited the theatre. It was nearing quarter to eleven and the sun had long vanished below the horizon so the six friends were walking through the streets by the orange light of the streetlamps, hopping over wet clumps of fallen leaves as they went. Merida smirked at her friend.

"Donnae tell me you _actually_ went through all four packets of tissues, Rapunzel," she snickered. Rapunzel's tear-streaked face glared back at the shorter-than-her-by-two-inches red-head in protest.

"Like _you_ didn't nab a few of them during... _that_ scene!" she retaliated. She was right – pretty much everyone had delved into the tissue packets at least once during _Billy Elliot_ , even Eugene and Jack who didn't usually cry very often!

"That was some pretty good choreography, huh?" Astrid noted, casting a glance at Hiccup who nodded in agreement. "We should suggest trying out some of those routines in class."

"You're suggesting it to Miss Murphy, not me," Hiccup chuckled. Jack began balancing on a nearby wall as they walked along the streets, spinning around on a lamppost as they passed one.

"So how long have you been into ballet, Hiccup?" he asked out of pure curiosity. Hiccup was taken aback momentarily by the sudden question but didn't hesitate to answer. He was among like-minded people after all. They were unlikely to judge.

"Since I was six, I guess?" he shrugged. "That's when I started taking it seriously." Jack whistled in amazement – that meant eleven years so far dedicated to the art. He was impressed.

"How did others take it?" Eugene asked, a little tentatively. He knew that anytime that question was asked, it was possible that sensitive territory was being entered. Now was such as time, clearly, as shown by Hiccup's face.

"Well, the kids at school did the usual _'_ _heh-heh, this boy does ballet'_ spiel," he explained. Astrid grimaced next to him.

"They shut up when he won the school's talent contest with it, though," she explained with a hopeful smile.

"Good on you!" Merida grinned encouragingly. Hiccup smiled in thanks before continuing.

"Dad...was happy that I found a hobby, I guess," he added uncertainly, rubbing his arm. "He wasn't overly keen on it being dance, though. He would have preferred it if I spent more time focusing on politics..." he grumbled, trailing off slightly.

"Okay, no need to go there," Eugene said. "Mayor Dad, not keen on the whole dance thing. We get it. Touchy subject. Moving on."

"What about your mother?" Rapunzel asked. Astrid stepped in immediately.

"Straight back into touchy subject area!" she snapped, a little harshly. Rapunzel put her hands up defensively but Hiccup calmed Astrid down and made a motion that suggested he was okay to speak a little about it.

"She...was really supportive," he answered quietly. "She made sure I worked hard at it without losing the enjoyment of dance."

"I'm sorry," Jack murmured, instantly catching the 'was' in the sentence. Hiccup shook his head – it was fine. More or less. "She'd be proud," Jack added with a comforting smile, sitting down on the wall as the walk slowed to a halt to place a hand on his friend's shoulder. Again, Hiccup could only give a crooked smile in thanks.

"I donnae suppose you want to tell us what happened yet, do you?" Merida guessed, biting her cheek.

"Not now," Hiccup shook his head. The group accepted that. "Can we...really change the subject now, please?" Hiccup asked awkwardly.

"Oh! Sure!" Rapunzel nodded. "I...uh...spotted some posters advertising the dance contest round school yesterday?" she offered. The group gladly took the conversation starter. Far less grim.

"Wasn't that the dates for each round being listed?" Astrid remembered. "First round's in two weeks, right?" Rapunzel nodded.

"Also, it's given the theme for the first round," she explained.

"What kind of theme are we talking here?" Eugene asked. "Dance style? Music style? If it's music and the theme's classical, I would pay to see Merida break-dancing to Beethoven."

"Don't even go there!" Merida snapped. Rapunzel shook her head.

"No, each round tests a different skill set in dance, remember?" she reminded the group. Hiccup began digging around in his bag for his phone to check for messages – he hadn't signed up for the actual contest so he might as well check to see whether the rest of the tech team had arranged anything. Rapunzel wasn't finished. "The first round's partner work."

"WAIT, WHAT?!" Merida spluttered. Jack also did a double take and in a lapse of concentration walked straight into a lamppost. "You're joking, right? Please tell me you're joking!" she begged.

"Nope," Rapunzel replied, a little taken aback at Merida's reaction. "There was an email sent around the competitors about it as well – I checked it earlier. Didn't you get it?"

"I 'avenae _read_ it, yet!" Merida protested. " _Partner work_?!" she repeated, visibly horrified. "I changed mi' timetable behind Mum's back so that I could _avoid_ all that stuff!" she half screeched. Hiccup suddenly yelped.

" _Why_ in the name of everything holy have I got that email?!" he cried irritably, thrusting his phone in the others' faces. Astrid's eyes went wide when she saw the opening line: _To All Moonstone Dance Competitors_. "I did _not_ sign up for this!" Rapunzel was looking incredibly shifty. Hiccup instantly caught it. "Rapunzel?" he growled.

"Hey, I had a perfectly good reason to!" Rapunzel protested. Jack and Eugene backed off a few steps – Hiccup looked genuinely irritated. Given that this was a look that they had never seen on him before, they were slightly nervous.

"I _specifically_ said I didn't want to take part in this!" Hiccup snapped.

"Did you not hear me? The first round's partner work! I only signed you up yesterday!" Rapunzel retorted. Jack winced – dammit, there were sparks flying from those bright green irises. Rapunzel was actually quite scary when she was irritated.

"What's the first round being 'partner work' got to do with anything?!" Hiccup asked sharply. Rapunzel didn't hesitate with her answer.

"There's an odd number of competitors otherwise, _that's what_ ," she replied shortly. Hiccup still didn't seem to understand Rapunzel's point and clearly his irritated glare pressed her to explain further. "They needed one more person to sign up, Hiccup," Rapunzel continued. "Everyone's been sending emails around nearly all day – a lot of them have already sorted their partners out. Astrid could have been kicked out of the contest because she didn't have one!" she explained, motioning her head at the Nordic Blonde.

"Hey!" Astrid exclaimed. "Leave me out of this!" Hiccup sighed.

"Urgh...alright..." he mumbled. "I'm still not happy about this," he huffed.

"I never expected you to be," Rapunzel replied. "Look, at least be Astrid's partner for the first round? You never know – you might have fun with this," she shrugged. Things fell silent so Rapunzel awkwardly decided to take her leave, with Eugene accompanying her towards the apartment block where she lived. With a few mumbled 'goodnight's and 'see you on Monday's, Jack, Merida, Astrid and Hiccup were left standing at the street corner. Hiccup looked incredibly annoyed.

"I'll admit that was not a good move, especially for Rapunzel," Jack winced, trying to let Hiccup know that he was on his side.

"No, no – it's fine," Hiccup said shortly, not making eye contact with anyone.

"No, it's not," Astrid pointed out, leaning forwards to try making eye contact but Hiccup just averted his gaze to something he'd suddenly found interesting about the 'For Sale' sign across the street. "You know what 'fine' stands...?"

"Don't you dare make a reference from _The Italian Job_ remake," he muttered. Astrid couldn't hide a snort at that and her fit of giggles set Hiccup off chuckling as well, reluctantly. "Stop that!" he smirked.

"There's a reason you're not an acting major, Henrik," Astrid teased, using her boyfriend's real name. Hiccup's smirk widened as he playfully went to tickle Astrid in the ribs but ended up with her leaping onto his back instead. Jack and Merida also couldn't help but let out a weak laugh.

"You sure you're okay with this, Hiccup?" Merida asked, crossing her arms and raising a red-orange eyebrow.

"I'd preferred it if Rapunzel _hadn't_ done that," Hiccup admitted. "But I'll deal with it," he sighed. "What's done is done. Can't change that. Especially seeing as the first round's the week after next."

"I'm guessing you two will be partnering up?" Jack supposed.

"We've been each other's dance partners since we were ten," Astrid explained with a smirk, leaning her head on Hiccup's (still in piggyback mode!). "Not changing anytime soon." Merida sagged. "You, Merida?" Astrid asked.

"No! I never expected this!" Merida protested. Jack sighed – neither had he! Oh, boy...might as well... He was the only one left by the sound of it, so by process of elimination...

"Look, if it makes anything easier in any way, shape or form, I'll partner up with you for the first round, okay?" he offered reluctantly. The others started and stared at him. "What? Did I get a leaf on my forehead?"

"You and Merida? Dancing together?" Hiccup snickered. "Now _that_ I'll pay to see." Merida hissed at him to zip it.

* * *

"Princess, you're taking this way too much to heart," Eugene sighed as he and Rapunzel entered the practise room they'd nabbed after school in order to start practising for the contest the following week. Ever since the incident following the trip to see _Billy Elliot_ at the weekend, Rapunzel had been incredibly skittish and guilt-ridden, incredibly saddened that she's made one of her best friends so upset. Eugene had been trying to reassure her that Hiccup had calmed down and was actively preparing for the competition alongside Astrid but Rapunzel was still anxious.

"Eugene, now is _not_ the time for using my nicknames," she huffed, pacing up and down the room. "Hiccup and I haven't even spoken since then! You know I feel really bad now!"

"You're only not talking because you avoided him during form and when he tried talking to you, you instantly asked Mrs Reine if you could go powder your nose," Eugene pointed out, fishing out a pair of shoes commonly worn for tap and slipping them onto his feet.

"I did?" Rapunzel grimaced nervously as she walked over to her own bag.

"I know you and Hiccup had your spat but you're still friends and he knows that," Eugene explained. "Give yourself a break – he was telling me during English that he wanted to make sure that you knew that he's not raving mad about what happened. Just annoyed you did it."

"It's the _fact_ that he's annoyed!" Rapunzel half squeaked. "You know I don't like getting on people's bad sides!"

"You're not on his bad side!" Eugene protested. Rapunzel was barely listening and leaned her forehead against the wall.

"I am a _despicable_ human being!" she mumbled. Eugene sighed and walked over, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"You aren't," he reassured. Rapunzel groaned back in response. "Listen, think of it this way. You are Hiccup's little sister. Younger sisters annoy their older brothers – just ask Jack. I'm sure his sis has bugged the living daylights out of him on multiple occasions."

"You're not helping, Eugene..." Rapunzel muttered grumpily.

"I'm just saying that just because you've tripped a few nerves, it doesn't mean that someone still doesn't care about you," Eugene continued calmly. "You're still one of Hiccup's best friends around here – we all know that." Rapunzel sniffed and turned her head slightly. Eugene smiled back at her and leaned against the wall with one had on his hip.

"Really?" Rapunzel mumbled.

"Of course!" Eugene assured. "Are we going to get along twenty-four-seven? No," he admitted. "Just look at Jack at Merida. Are we going to say things that get on each other's nerves? Of course," he added. "Again, Jack and Merida being prime examples. But does that stop us from being best friends?" he asked. Rapunzel laughed weakly and pushed herself away from the wall.

"No," she smiled slightly. " _Danke, Eugene,_ " she added in German.

" _Bitte_ ," Eugene replied. "Now – are we gonna get this routine sorted and show those guys how this kind of dance is done or what?" he grinned. Rapunzel's smile widened as she got her own dancing shoes out.

"You got the music?" she asked.

"I've always got the music," Eugene chuckled, digging a memory stick out of his pocket and slotting it into the computer nearby.

* * *

Hiccup sighed and leant against the wall, exhaling heavily as Astrid followed him into the dance studio they'd booked for the week. His dance duffle bag was hanging off his shoulder and he was tapping his left leg nervously as Astrid shut the door behind her.

"You okay there, Mister?" Astrid asked worriedly.

"I'm fine...and don't say it!" Hiccup replied as Astrid opened her mouth in an attempt to make the reference again. "Just...nervous, I guess."

"You're telling me – I'm nervous for the both of us," Astrid admitted. She paused for a moment. "It's been a while since we've done a partner routine, huh?" she asked with a weak smirk. Hiccup tried to smirk back but it came off as a grimace.

"Yeah...sure has," he murmured. "You reckon we can pull it off?" he wondered quietly.

"If we tread carefully, we should be fine," Astrid said firmly. "Just take it easy, alright? One step at a time, okay?" Hiccup sighed but nodded all the same. "Listen, we've got this under control," Astrid continued. "Also, we're gonna be fine. You know how well we work together," she reminded her boyfriend, nudging him playfully and giving him a wink.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hiccup quizzed, with a more genuine smirk this time around.

"There! That's the Hiccup I know," Astrid grinned. "Now get those fancy shoes of yours out of the bag." Hiccup rolled his eyes and fished out a pair of black leather shoes that looked like they would be suitable for ballroom dancing. Slipping them onto his feet, Hiccup rummaged around in his bag for the memory stick with their chosen music on it.

"Just double check things to make sure we're fine with the track?" he asked.

"Come on – that song is beautiful!" Astrid pointed out. "If we're going to blow them away, it's gonna be with that song. Who cares if it's in Japanese?"

"I never said anyone _would_ care," Hiccup smiled, starting up the computer and playing the track. For the next four or so minutes, the pair sat listening to the music, smiling happily as the tune played. Yep, they were happy.

"Should we get started?" Astrid suggested.

"Absolutely," Hiccup agreed before his gaze fell downwards again. "I'm still worried as heck about this."

"Stop worrying about _that_ and focus more on _this_!" Astrid huffed. "That or what colour your tie's gonna be."

"Cobalt blue as always!" Hiccup protested. "Same as your dress!"

"Who said I'm wearing cobalt?"

"Oh, come on, Astrid!"

* * *

"NOBODY EVER SAID _ANYTHING_ ABOUT PARTNER WORK!" Merida shrieked as she stormed up and down the practise room up and down, up and down, up and down... Jack felt like he was watching a tennis match.

"You've said that twenty one times already," he huffed.

"'Ave not!" Merida protested angrily. Jack held up his palm – it had a small tally chart on it with a tiny scribble above it reading: _How Many Times Miss Frizz had Complained About Partner Work_. Lo and behold – there were four groups of five tallies and Jack quickly added an extra line. "You actually counted?"

"I've barely been able to do anything else – you've been going back and forth in this room for the last half hour," Jack pointed out. "Look – we're stuck with this at least until the first round's over so can you just grin and bear it for one week?"

"I'll bear it – I wonnae grin, though," Merida grumbled. "And donnae call me Miss Frizz."

"I never did," Jack frowned.

"You've got it written on your 'and, 'avenae you?" Merida snapped sharply. Jack squinted at his palm.

"How good _is_ your eyesight?!" he spluttered.

"Good enough to see a target two 'undred yards away," Merida grinned proudly. Jack made a face – okay, he'll admit that was impressive. "Alright. I said I'm gonna bear with this. Got any ideas for this shambles?" Jack raised a dark eyebrow.

"With any luck, it 'wonnae be a shambles'," he responded with a very bad impression of Merida's Scottish accent. In retaliation, Merida threw a shoe at him. "OW! Hey!"

"So, how're we gonna get through this?" Merida quizzed, folding her arms and ignoring Jack's yelp of protest. "I've got a couple of ideas – might be able to work them into something." Jack smirked – well, at least she was going along with it and actually _had_ been thinking rather than leaving it all to him. That was a good start at the very least.

"First off, music," he stated, logging onto the computer and firing up YouTube. "I had a song in mind – it's nothing classical or anything like that. I thought you might prefer something like this." He typed the song name into the search bar and the video he was looking for showed up at the top of the results list. Merida peeked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

" _Juliet_?" she read. "I've heard that one – not a bad dance song, I'll admit."

"Think we could work with it?" Jack questioned, casting a raised eyebrow of his own back at his...dance partner.

"I suppose," Merida shrugged. She patted Jack's shoulder firmly and began slipping her shoes on. "Right – let's get started."

"Someone's eager all of a sudden," Jack remarked dryly.

"Partner work or not, we're leaving the other guys in the dust," Merida smirked. "You'll see." Jack laughed softly and slipped his own pair of dance shoes on. "How's your street jazz, anyway?" Jack nearly jumped three feet into the air.

"Say what?"


	12. Round One

**Round One:**

A week later and the main hall of Moonstone Arts Academy had been decked out with streamers, lights, tables and chairs, ready for the first round of the Dance Contest, the skill set being partner work. Not only students and teachers were attending as audience members for the evening – family and friends of students from outside the Academy were also in attendance. To make sure that those who had friends and family from long distances didn't miss out, live video feeds had been set up by the tech team to allow for people in the homes of students from a long way away (such as abroad, which was the case for Hiccup and Astrid as the majority of their family and friends were still in Norway).

In the corridors just outside the main hall, the classrooms had been decked out as dressing rooms where everyone who was participating was racing around trying to make sure their makeup hadn't smudged or that their outfits weren't marked in any way, shape or form. Rapunzel had already dashed to the girls' bathroom five times to check her eyeliner, terrified she'd smudged it; and Jack was still fussing over his ice-blue and dark teal waistcoat. Hiccup was afraid to tell Astrid that he thought she'd gone slightly overboard with the hairspray, just in case she walloped his shoulder in retaliation. Merida was, for once, trying to tease her wild curls into a presentable style but there were still random cowlicks popping up all over the place no matter how hard she tried and Eugene swore she was using even _more_ hairspray than Astrid.

"We're lucky those things don't contain CFCs anymore," Eugene remarked, examining a now apparently empty can of hairspray (it had gone around nearly all of the competitors at least once). "Else we'd be getting more holes in the Ozone Layer other than just that Antarctica one."

"Hairspray stopped containing those things, like, nearly forty years ago!" Astrid pointed out.

"Still, we're lucky my aunt's not snooping around back here," Jack winced. "She'd throw a fit breathing this air in," he added with a cough.

"This your aunt as in, your 'Gaia incarnate' aunt?" Hiccup asked, running a sticky-roller over his trousers for the umpteenth time. He'd come to the evening already wearing his dance gear, even though Astrid hadn't (her dress was still mainly cobalt, much to Hiccup's relief), and was evidently paranoid about dust making his outfit look shabby. Rapunzel had commented that she'd never seen a guy pay as much attention to his appearance like that since she and Eugene played Lumiére and Babette in a school production of _Beauty and the Beast_ (Eugene had flushed bright red at that – apparently he'd done a pretty good rendition of _Be Our Guest_ ).

"The same," Jack replied to Hiccup's question. _He has no idea,_ he thought to himself.

"I guess everyone's goin' green nowadays," Merida commented, finally pinning her hair into a style which kept most of her wild curls out of her face before double-checking her costume: teal and ice-blue, matching Jack's waistcoat; and comprised of loose top which showed off her midriff and with off-the-shoulder short sleeves (as well as shoulder straps) as well as flared trousers. Sequined? Partly. Not overly so to be considered gaudy.

"Oh, no," Jack contradicted. "Em-Jay's always _been_ green. She uses cloth shopping bags, composts all the food scraps..." he counted off his fingers. "Oh! And separates her recycling into _fifteen_ types!"

"Do you even _have_ fifteen types of recycling?!" Rapunzel spluttered. Jack shrugged – he didn't want to get started. Somehow, Em-Jay found a way to split 'Paper', 'Glass' and 'Tins' into five sub-categories each. "Wow...she really is into the whole save-the-planet thing, huh?"

"Feel for you, man," Eugene grimaced. Jack smirked in thanks before turning his attention to the blasted stage makeup he'd been plastered with. Jeez, he was not used to seeing himself with orange skin – his skin was naturally so pale that he'd been half-forced to go down to the new spray-tan salon in town the previous weekend! Granted the spray-tan itself wasn't hideous but Jack still jumped every single time he saw his reflection. Needless to say, Emma was enjoying her brother's embarrassment, possibly a little too much (luckily, she still hadn't figured out how to use a camera phone).

 _How did I go from being on a 'body guarding' mission to this?_ Jack thought to himself. He could have sworn this was _never_ in the job description. Ah, well. The contest, he'd actually signed up for so he might as well go with it.

"How've rehearsals been goin'?" Merida asked the others, making a face at her reflection once the makeup artist had finished with her eyes.

"Been going fine, thanks," Hiccup replied, finally placing the sticky-roller down and sorting out his bowtie before helping Astrid out with the back of her dress. "Nearly pulled a muscle or two but survived."

"It was your idea to...HEY!" Astrid yelped in protest as Hiccup poked her in the ribs.

"Secret!" he reminded her playfully.

"Lemme guess," Merida smirked as she eyed Astrid's dress up and down – cobalt with hints of lighter and darker blues, ankle length, very flowing skirt with a tighter bodice and with a shawl attached to her wrists. "Venetian Waltz?"

"You actually know ballroom dance names?" Jack quizzed jokingly. "You astound me." Merida retaliated by lobbing a tube of mascara at his head. "OW!"

"Donnae help that my mum makes me watch _Strictly Come Dancing_ with her every single time it's on," she huffed.

"Well, kinda – you'll see," Astrid grinned knowingly as she fixed her shawl into place and Hiccup helped her out with her shoes – they were the usual sandal-like heels used for ballroom, but had closed toes and were slightly longer. Hiccup cast a glance over his shoulder at Rapunzel and Eugene.

"How about you two?" he called. "Rehearsals gone alright this week?"

"Couldn't be better, my friend," Eugene smirked. "You'll see once we get out there." Jack looked at his friends' outfits – they looked like a combo of traditional German clothing and fifties-sixties style dance clothes. Rapunzel was sporting the poof-y skirt and everything.

"But, like _Frau_ 'Divine Beauty' and _Herr_ 'Chief of House' over there..." Rapunzel shot playfully. Astrid and Hiccup glanced at each other – okay, when had Rapunzel taken the time to learn the meaning of their names? "...lips are sealed until the show begins," she finished, miming zipping her lips closed. Hiccup and Astrid simultaneously stuck their tongues out at the brunette seventeen-eighteen-next-Spring-year-old.

"Whatever you guys are doing, I'm sure it'll be great," Hiccup smiled once he'd stopped pulling a face. Rapunzel smiled back at him a little apologetically – the pair were back on talking terms but no matter how many times Hiccup said the whole thing no longer bothered him too much, Rapunzel still felt bad and it was taking a lot for her to get back to being her usually bubbly self whenever Hiccup was in the room. This was the best streak they'd had so far.

"I'm interested to see what Fire and Ice over there have come up with," Astrid snickered, pointing a thumb in Jack and Merida's direction. Both flushed as red as Merida's hair.

"Y...y...you'll see," Jack stammered slightly. Luckily the conversation was cut short by a small teen, not much taller than five foot, with raven black hair and almond-shaped brown eyes poked his head through the door.

"Five minute call!" he shouted quickly before dashing down the corridor. The gang frowned.

"Was it me or did that guy look like the techie exchange student?" Eugene asked. Hiccup nodded.

"Didn't realise Tadashi managed to get his brother over here," he remarked. "Flights from San Fransokyo aren't exactly cheap."

"That kid looked fourteen!" Merida exclaimed.

"That's because he is!" Hiccup explained. "Hiro's apparently more of a flipping genius than his older brother, if Tadashi has anything to say about it."

"Well, Tadashi rivals _your_ skills on tech," Astrid pointed out. "So that's kinda freaky."

"Thanks, mi'lady," Hiccup smirked dryly. Astrid made a face back at him and kissed his nose playfully. Jack snickered – that was the first time he'd actually seen the pair display any outward signs of relationship-like affection towards each other all term.

"Get a room, you two," he teased. Before anyone could come up with a comeback, he motioned with his head to get them moving. "Come on – audience has just gone into the hall. Everyone else is lining up."

The three pairs brushed themselves down one last time before joining the other dancers just offstage at the back of the hall, ready for the dean of the Academy to call them in. Merida managed to push her way to the front and peeked through the curtains to scan the audience – with her sharp eyesight, the flashing lights on the performing area and the dark audience area didn't faze her too much.

"How're we looking?" Astrid mumbled.

"Live video feeds are up," Merida whispered back. "Rapunzel, your mother's third table back on our left going out..." she added, spotting the black-curly-haired woman she'd sometimes seen with Rapunzel around town. "Hiccup, your minder's fourth table on the right."

"Was wondering if Gobber would show for this one," Hiccup muttered.

"See? He does care," Astrid nudged. Hiccup poked her in the ribs again. "What? He's always attended your recitals."

"Overland-Frosts are taking up the front row seats on the left," Merida continued. Jack groaned quietly. "Aaaand...my family's three rows back..." Merida grumbled.

"Hey, technically what we're gonna do counts as ballroom," Jack reminded her. "You should be fine. If your mom complains, say that the teachers gave you a challenge to expand your skill set."

"Thanks, Jack..." Merida mumbled, scooting back to rejoin him in the cue as the dean announced the start of the contest. In an orderly line, two-by-two, the dancers filed out onto the stage in order of performance according to the programme. Each couple was announced as follows:

 _Penny and Sherman  
Ariel and Eric  
Rapunzel and Eugene  
Miguel and Tulio (no one had said teachers couldn't participate, nor that couples had to be boy-girl)  
Jack and Merida  
Nani and Lilo (fraternal twins from Hawaii – Lilo was significantly shorter than her sister)  
Hiccup and Astrid_

After the applause died down from the audience, the dancers each took their seats at the side of the performance space, save for Penny and Sherman who took their places on the dance floor. The dean announced that being in a pair didn't mean that a couple would get through together – each dancer was still being individually judged – but that also didn't mean that they should try to outperform their partner. Pair-work was still being tested here, and the judges were looking at a dancer's ability to work with another to create a routine. Balance was key.

The lights faded onto the dance floor as Penny and Sherman began their performance – a strict and clean rumba. There was no denying that the pair's ability to keep up with the music was brilliant – both Penny and Sherman were music majors with minors in dance – but everyone in the year knew that there was fierce competition between them as well and it made people wonder how they would fare in a teamwork situation.

Four minutes passed as the dance ended. There was a echoing applause through the room as Penny and Sherman took their seats, seemingly bickering slightly as to their personal opinion of their performance. Ariel and Eric followed with a lively quickstep – Ariel was a music major whilst Eric was more of an artist but both worked off each other relatively well, although their timing wasn't as smooth as perhaps it could have been and some of Eric's footwork wasn't as sharp as it might otherwise be.

Just a quick note – being a dance major gave no real advantage in the contest. Students weren't allowed to practise during lesson time and each competitor had been assigned equal amount of after-school practise hours. Students needed to have at least advanced danced skills to attend Moonstone to begin with – the same applied for all of the arts subjects – so each competitor was on relatively equal footing. Of course, there was Miguel and Tulio who were staff members but it gave the students something to work towards – if they could beat their own teachers...well, that deserved bragging rights for the rest of the school year, right?

Rapunzel and Eugene were called onto the floor once the applause for Ariel and Eric had died down. The other two couples in the friendship group ( _dance_ couple in terms of Jack and Merida – they've asked me to make that clear) glanced at each other in excitement, eager to see what their friends had come up with. Without warning, the music started – it was a fast, upbeat song... _Reet Petite_. The song was hard enough to follow in terms of lyrics but Rapunzel and Eugene went straight for it in terms of dance.

The dance itself seemed to be a combination of a Charleston and more traditional folk dancing...almost a hornpipe. It was a strange combination, not one that any dancer at the school had come across before, but somehow Rapunzel and Eugene were pulling it off almost flawlessly, working off each other with confidence as they performed lifts, quicksteps and other complicated footwork that evidently had years of practise put into it.

Hiccup, Jack, Merida and Astrid had a sneaking suspicion this wasn't something the childhood sweethearts had just concocted for the dance contest.

The fast-paced dance between Rapunzel and Eugene came to an end and the audience erupted with applause, astounded by the pair's creativity. Over the cheers came a shriek:

"THAT'S MY LITTLE FLOWER!"

Rapunzel and Eugene laughed breathlessly at hearing Gothel's shout of pride for her adopted daughter, bowing deeply before returning to their seats next to the others.

"That was _amazing_!" Merida congratulated in awe."Where d'ja learn to do that?!"

"We didn't," Rapunzel replied.

"Taught ourselves every step," Eugene added proudly, hugging Rapunzel close. The conversation died down as Miguel and Tulio stepped onto the dance floor, ready to show the student body how the teachers worked their stuff. The music started again, this time with a more Hispanic feel to it as the two men danced what looked like a _pasodoble_ , which stunned Merida momentarily seeing that Miguel was the street-jazz/hip-hop/break-dance teacher of the school. Jack muttered to her that a lot of dancers were skilled in more than one area, as they would show the audience next.

Miguel and Tulio's performance came to an end as the allocated maximum of four minutes came to an end and the rounds of applause filled the hall once again, especially from the classes taught by the two teachers (hoots of celebration were coming from the back of the audience and it took all of Merida's self-restraint to stop herself doing the same). The dean thanked the teachers as they finished their dramatic, sweeping bows and called out the next set of names on the list: Merida DunBroch and Jackson Overland-Frost.

Gulping, Merida took the hand that Jack was offering her and the pair stepped onto the dance floor. As the lights dimmed, Merida set her face into a determined scowl and gripped Jack's hand so tightly, Jack audibly winced as her fingernails dug into his skin momentarily.

"Relax," he whispered to her. "We've got this."

"It's not the dance tha' I'm worried about," Merida muttered back, her ever-thick curls blocking her face enough for Jack to not see her expression or where her gaze was directed. On the seats, Rapunzel leant over Eugene to whisper to Astrid and Hiccup.

"Wonder what they've got prepared," she mumbled.

"Who knows?" Hiccup replied. "But Merida's family's in the audience – I don't know if they've got something to do with ballroom planned."

"What's Merida gonna do if she progresses?" Astrid voiced aloud. "If her mom's gonna show up again..."

The conversation was cut short as the music started. The rest of the gang started a little as they heard the opening bars of the pop song, _Juliet_ , began playing through the speakers and watched Jack and Merida closely in interest. The two had joined hands and were now walking towards the centre of the floor as if they were dancing a tango, rumba or some other kind of fast and feisty dance. As the first verse started the others were astounded at the passion put into the dance – fiery and angry. Jack was spinning Merida through the steps and she attacked them with the same power she would her break-dance routines. Considering how neither were considered experts at ballroom dance of any kind, the others were amazed at how professional Jack and Merida actually looked.

There was something else about their dance. Sneakily included in between the segments of partner work were elements of Merida's preferred hip-hop and street jazz (in these parts, Jack looked a little under experienced when put next to Merida but he did his best seeing as his specialty, as the people in his dance class had been finding out, was tap). It was more heavily featured in the second chorus and Jack and Merida even managed to throw in a few flips (back and front) but it was never overly noticeable to someone who would think the piece was a ballroom one.

The song came to an end as Jack and Merida struck their final pose and the hall erupted into applause – the loudest of the evening so far. Grinning in exhaustion and amazement at how well their performance had gone, Merida and Jack straightened up and bowed together, acknowledging the praise from the audience. Merida even heaved a sigh of relief when she saw her mother standing up proudly from her seat – phew, she'd made it through this round at least.

As the applause finally died down, the fraternal twins, Nani and Lilo took to the dance floor, wearing traditional Hawaiian dance grass skirts and flower wreaths (leis) before a choral Hawaiian song started up from the speakers. The girls began moving in perfect sync with each other, performing a mesmerising hula that had clearly been practised since they could both walk. The girls performed spins and twirls and spun their hands as they went through the dance, smiling all the way. After about three and a half minutes, the dance ended and the twins took a bow as the audience applauded.

"...and now for our final couple of the evening," the dean announced. Astrid jumped in excitement and gripped Hiccup's hand eagerly. Hiccup grinned a little nervously and the others cast glances of encouragement at them. "Astrid Hofferson and her partner, Henrik Haddock."

"Go get 'em!" Merida cheered as Hiccup and Astrid walked into the performance space.

"Good luck!" Eugene called.

"You'll be amazing!" Rapunzel squealed. Jack couldn't say anything that hadn't already been said so he gave his best friends an encouraging nod as the lights dimmed to a signal spotlight on Hiccup and Astrid as they took their place. Given their outfits of a smart, tailored suit and a flowing ball gown, everyone already had high expectations especially seeing as both students were known to have some of the highest dance grades in the school. Sensing her childhood-turned-boyfriend shaking nervously, Astrid gave Hiccup's hand one last reassuring squeeze as her storm-blue eyes met his forest-green gaze.

"One step at a time, okay?" she whispered. Hiccup nodded just before the music started.

The music began with an accordion opening before a gentle piano joined in. As it began, Hiccup and Astrid's hands moved together and their eyes didn't leave the other's face. The verse started, revealing the song to be sung in Japanese (Eugene recognised it as a song from one of his favourite video games; a song called _Iris ~ Box of Happiness_ ) and whilst the singing seemed to come slowly, Hiccup and Astrid managed to dance along to the lyrics without their movements becoming disjointed. Their dance style did indeed, as Merida had guessed earlier, to be similar to that of the Viennese Waltz and their choreography appeared seamless.

As the first chorus picked up, the dancing became less in parts and flowed together a lot more. Upon the second verse, everyone gasped in amazement as the pair broke apart and began a stunning ballet routine, Astrid's long skirt barely fazing her at all and Hiccup gliding just as gracefully along the floor (although Rapunzel noticed that his left foot seemed a little stiff – maybe he wasn't lying when he said he'd pulled a muscle or two). The song became increasingly more powerful, as did the dance as Hiccup and Astrid began incorporating spectacular lifts, working effortlessly together as if they'd been dancing together for over a lifetime. During the bridge, the song softened again and Hiccup and Astrid performed one final segment of delicate ballet, splitting apart for the final time as the build up to the final chorus came.

As Astrid ran into Hiccup's arms and he raised her into a flying lift, Jack found himself choking up on the sidelines. He'd lived a long time but couldn't recall seeing anything as mesmerising as this. Rapunzel and Eugene's dance had been lively and energetic, making him want to leap up and dance with them even though he knew none of the steps. When he'd danced with Merida, somehow he'd felt a fearsome strength and a sense of bravery from her, and it had given him the confidence to keep up with her insane skills even though he knew she surpassed him greatly in terms of the street jazz dance style. Watching Hiccup and Astrid dance was breathtaking...powerful and moving. In a rare occasion in his long time of living, Jack felt like he wanted to cry for joy.

The song came to an end as Hiccup and Astrid finished in each other's arms, still locking gazes with each other. Once again, the hall erupted with applause, everyone nearly deafening everybody else with their shrieks of praise. After bowing, Hiccup and Astrid flung their arms around each other in delight – by far, that had to top all of their performances from their early teens and before.

The end of the evening came too soon as the dean called up all of the couples once the judges had finalised their scores.

"I think we can all agree that we have been treated to an absolutely spectacular night," the dean smiled proudly. A reprise of applause and cheers sounded briefly in agreement. "The judges have given in their scores and I can now reveal the results. I shall call up our successful dancers one at a time." He turned to the dancers lined up behind him. "Remember: it could be you and your partner, one of you, or neither. Good luck to you all."

Everyone fell silent as the dean opened the envelope containing the results in his hands. Eugene made an aside comment to Rapunzel that this felt like one of the talent shows they used to watch on TV when they were little. The spotlights turned brilliant white and Hiccup couldn't help but smirk – trust the tech team...

"In no particular order..." the dean recited.

"Definitely like the talent shows..." Eugene muttered.

"...the first dancer through to the next round of the contest is..." There was a pause but thankfully no clichéd dramatic music. That much, the dancers were grateful for. "Merida DunBroch."

"GET IN!" Merida cried as the audience burst into applause. She leapt about three feet into the air, punching the air triumphantly as the other dancers also clapped in congratulations, none more so than the rest of the gang who were beaming widely.

"Well done, Merida," the dean congratulated. "We'll see you for the Group Choreography Round." Merida nodded and went backstage to wait for her fellow competitors. All the while, her fingers were crossed so tightly for her friends she was scared she'd break her fingers. "The next dancer through is..."

Another pause. The dancers began taking deep breaths to calm themselves down as random members of the audience began shouting the names of those they wanted through.

"Eugene Fitzherbert!"

" _AH! Mein Gott_!" Eugene exclaimed in German as he raised his hands in disbelief to his head. Rapunzel squealed in congratulations and threw her arms around his waist joyfully, saying her congratulations in German over and over again as the applause sunk in. Once things had calmed down, Eugene headed back to join Merida. _Come on – two down, four to go..._

"The next dancer to join Eugene and Merida in the next round is..."

 _Please be one of the others, please be one of the others..._

"Congratulations, Rapunzel Corona!"

"EEK!" Rapunzel shrieked, nearly breaking out into tears of joy. Eugene's shout of triumph could be heard from backstage and Gothel was screeching in pride from her chair again. Muttering a good luck to the others, Rapunzel jogged backstage to join her boyfriend and Merida as the dean continued. Everyone fell silent as the dean began to announce the next result.

"Henrik Haddock!"

"WHAT?!" Hiccup spluttered, nearly falling over in shock (Astrid caught him before he could do any major damage to himself). Once again, the applause in the hall was nigh on deafening and Hiccup just about caught sight of one of the live-feed videos...

"HADDOCK! HADDOCK! OI! OI! OI!"

Hiccup and Astrid both nearly broke out into tears – it was the rest of their group of friends from back home in Norway. They were all crowded around a video camera, all in their pyjamas (there was a six hour time difference between Burgess and Norway but luckily it was a Friday evening so Hiccup and Astrid assumed that was the only reason why their friends were allowed up in the early hours of the morning) and grinning wildly. There was a girl with raven hair and bright green eyes in the centre of the screen, surrounded by three boys: one stocky and short with black hair and blue eyes; a large blonde boy with green eyes; and a slender boy with blonde dreadlocks and blue eyes; and another girl, slim with blonde plaits and blue eyes. It was Heather Wolfram, Simon Jorgenson, Finley Ingerman and the twins: Thomas and Rachel Thorston. Hiccup and Astrid Skype-called them all on a regular basis but it was great to see them tuning into the contest to support them.

"Congratulations, Henrik," the dean smiled. "I'm also delighted to tell you that the judges scored you one of the Best Dancers of the evening." Hiccup laughed to cover up his disbelief as he staggered off stage to join Rapunzel, Eugene and Merida. "The next round has two places left," the dean announced. Astrid and Jack scooted closer together and shot each other glances of good luck, praying to everything they could think of for the chance to join the rest of their friends in the next round of the contest.

Another silence. Astrid's heart was in her throat and Jack squeezed her hand in a ditch attempt to calm her down.

"The next dancer...joining her partner is Astrid Hofferson!"

" _Aldri_!" Astrid cried in shock, her native Norwegian taking over and almost tripping over the hem of her dress (luckily Jack was able to stop her before her behind became best friends with the floor in front of everyone back in Norway).

" _Gratlerer_!" Hiccup shouted from backstage as the dean announced that Astrid was the second Best Dancer of the evening. Once she'd ran off to join the others, Astrid crashed into Hiccup as they shared a celebratory hug before waiting anxiously for the last name to be called.

 _Come on, Jack..._

"There is one place left," the dean announced. "The last dancer to join Astrid, Eugene, Henrik, Merida and Rapunzel for the Group Choreography Round this Christmas is..."

 _Come on!_

"Jackson Overland-Frost!"

"HOLY...MOTHER GOOSE!" Jack cried in a half-asked attempt to stop himself from cussing too badly. Great...Katherine was going to have his head for this if she ever found out. The hall burst into one final round of applause as the dean congratulated the other dancers for their efforts and the rest of Jack's friends joined him back in the performing area, sharing a massive group hug. They barely registered the dean announcing that they had until the Christmas holidays to prepare for the next round which would involve them gathering up groups of non-competing students and creating a large choreographed piece which features all dancers but still kept the focus on them as the main performer.

"Oh, I've got this one in the bag," Merida snickered teasingly.

"Wait until next week, will you, Frizz-Ball?" Jack joked, still breathless with shocked laughter. "We've got the weekend at least..."

"WELL DONE, JACK!" a shrill shriek came as a tiny figure ran through the crowd. Jack's smile widened as his little sister slammed into his side, wrapping her arms around him. "You guys were all amazing!" Emma squealed as Jack ruffled her hair.

"Thanks, Em," Eugene chuckled back as he hugged Rapunzel back.

"Who's up for a celebration tomorrow once we've got all this makeup off?" Astrid suggested.

"Party at my house?" Hiccup added with his trademark crooked grin.

I think it was safe to say that everyone was up for that.


	13. An Explosive Exit

An Explosive Exit:

That Saturday afternoon, a groggy but otherwise ecstatic group of six best friends were gathered in the lounge of Hiccup's home, drinking warm mugs of cocoa, tea and coffee, whatever suited their tastes the best. Bowls of crisps and other snacks lay abandoned on the coffee table and a couple of DVD cases were scattered on the TV stand, ready to be watched later. The gang were still a bit exhausted from the competition the night before for a full blown 'party' but, hey, they were together, chatting and laughing. Things didn't need to get too loud and raucous for them to have a good time.

"So, who's got plans for the next round yet?" Jack asked, wiping away a hot chocolate moustache onto the sleeve of his dark blue hoodie (somehow it looked weird without the frost patterns decorating it). Rapunzel reprimanded him on his manners and pointed out the tissue box on the table next to him. "Oh, come on, Blondie!"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Rapunzel protested, throwing a cushion at the white-haired boy who barely avoided dropping his drink. "You have been spending way too much time with Eugene!"

"Oi! I'd appreciate it if the furnishings were not too destroyed by the time you lot are done with it!" Gobber snapped dryly from the door as he walked past.

"Sorry, Gobber – we'll be careful," Hiccup promised.

"Yes, if I got a dollar for every time you said that and something happened to ya, I'd be a millionaire by now," Gobber huffed. Hiccup replied with a sarcastic "Funny!" as his minder walked off, giving a reminder that he was there if the gang needed any more snacks or drinks or anything. Once Gobber was out of sight, the gang continued their conversation.

"Oh, trust me – I _know_ what I'm gonna do," Merida smirked, swigging the last of her tea. "You lot wonnae know what hit ya."

"That so?" Astrid snickered back. "I'll take that as a challenge."

"If it weren't for the fact you girls look _nothing_ alike, I'd swear you were sisters," Eugene commented. Instead of throwing back a snarky comment, Astrid and Merida high-fived. "I rest my case! They didn't even deny it!"

"You are both competitive," Jack shrugged in admittance.

"Not to mention have a mild tendency for violence," Hiccup smirked. Astrid thwacked his shoulder lightly before making a teasing face at him ("Case closed.").

"And underneath everything, you both still care," Rapunzel added with a warm smile over her coffee. Merida chuckled and ran a hand through her now-hairspray-free hair.

"I'd be darned if I find a person who didnae care for at least one other person," she shrugged. "In my mind, they'd have to be pretty heartless for tha'." Jack frowned into his hot chocolate – the words got him thinking. Was what Merida had said true? Did everyone have at least one person they truly cared for? No matter their motives?

 _Moon dammit, Jack! Can you keep Guardian stuff out of your head for two seconds?!_

"What about the rest of ya?" Merida asked.

"I might have something," Rapunzel replied thoughtfully. "I just need to finalise a few things."

"You guys work quick," Jack remarked. "We only finished Round One last night."

"Never hurts to be prepared," Hiccup pointed out. "I've got something in mind, myself. Keeping quiet though – if Merida's not telling, neither am I."

"You know, for a group of best friends, we keep a lot of secrets from each other," Eugene frowned, leaning back in his armchair. Merida slouched on the beanbag she was reclining in and Rapunzel straightened herself up on the arm of the chair Eugene was in. Hiccup, Astrid and Jack all looked over from the sofa. "I mean, I know a lot about Rapunzel here but we've known each other...like...forever."

"We tell each other stuff," Astrid pointed out. "There's no harm in keeping competition plans a secret, is there?"

"No, not at all," Eugene replied. "Just apart from the occasional visit to a few people's houses there not much we know about each other's home lives...I get school schedules don't allow for more house visits and all but..."

"Maybe it's not stuff we want to talk about," Merida huffed slightly, her hand reaching over to her back where her tattoo was blazoned between her shoulder blades. Hiccup shifted uncomfortably as well.

"Merida's right, Eugene," he agreed. "Besides, it's not like you tell us anything you don't want to tell us anyway."

"Hey, I'm just saying!" Eugene protested, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Pretend I never said anything." Rapunzel's attention was caught by something on the mantelpiece – a photo framed in a brass rectangle. She picked it up and examined it, unable to help but smile at the contents of the photo.

"Say, Hiccup – this you?" she asked, holding the photo up. Hiccup flushed slightly and chuckled nervously – well, it wasn't as if he'd made any attempt to hide the picture so he couldn't complain about somebody picking it up. "Aww! You look so cute!" Rapunzel continued with a giggle.

"Hiccup – stop stealing my girl," Eugene mockingly pouted. "Astrid will kill you for cheating." That time it was a well aimed cushion at Eugene's forehead (and another shout from Gobber).

"How old are ya in tha' one?" Merida laughed as Rapunzel brought the photo over for the group to look at. Hiccup walked over to check the photo – a sad smile crossed his face, one that didn't go unnoticed by Jack.

"That's my fourteenth birthday," he replied. Jack peeked over everyone else's shoulder to get a look at the photo – the boy in the centre was undoubtedly Hiccup. He was just a lot shorter, maybe around five-one if Jack had to take a guess in comparison to his current six feet ("Darn kid wouldn't stop getting growth spurts after he hit fifteen," Astrid explained), and his face was rounder...more freckled as well if that was possible. His hair also looked a lot neater – still flyaway but not in spiky clumps that rivalled Jack's. There were two grownups in the photo as well – both towering over the teenage boy but with beaming smiles on their faces.

"That was just after your Grade 6 Ballet exam results came out, wasn't it?" Astrid remembered fondly. Hiccup nodded in confirmation as the others made sympathetic winces – it was never nice waiting for exam results on your birthday. They could either make or break the day and you spent countless worrisome hours praying it would be the former. "Valka was so proud..." Astrid smiled warmly.

"Valka your mother?" Jack asked Hiccup whose sad smile vanished in an instant. There was no trace of a smile of any kind on his face now.

"Yeah..." the boy replied. "Valeria was her real name but Dad always called her his Valkyrie...she kinda got stuck with the nickname Valka because of that." Jack's eyebrows rose slightly – okay, clearly Hiccup's still-back-in-Norway father had a thing for Viking culture.

"She's pretty," Rapunzel noted, her gaze resting on the beaming woman in the photo. She looked the most like Hiccup out of the two grownups in the photo – the man (evidently Stan, Hiccup's father) had a head and beard of bushy red hair and had a large, stout build. Valka, on the other hand, had the same auburn hair and slender build as her son. The only thing Hiccup seemed to have inherited from his father was his pair of forest-green eyes – Valka appeared to have pale blue ones.

"Yeah, she was..." Hiccup nodded, trying and failing to hold back the tears. Astrid walked over and placed a hand in his, squeezing it gently to comfort him. Hiccup took the photo from Rapunzel and began to place it back on the mantelpiece when Merida piped up.

"You sure you don't want to tell us about what happened to her?" she asked. This time, Astrid didn't make a move to make a defensive snap. "I mean...it seems you were close...closer to her than your dad, at any rate."

"I..." Hiccup trailed off when Rapunzel cut in.

"Hiccup, we're your friends," she reminded him. "If you need to get something off your chest..."

"We're the people to turn to," Eugene finished. Hiccup nodded...he'd kept this whole thing to himself for the most part for a long time. He might as well tell someone.

"Okay..." he sighed, sitting back down. Astrid shuffled over and squeezed his hand gently in comfort – Jack frowned as he noticed Hiccup's left leg hanging a little more limply than his right but he didn't mention anything. "Where do you guys want me to start?" Hiccup asked dryly.

"I'd quote _Alice in Wonderland_ here but I'm not sure if that tone would be appropriate," Eugene shrugged. The others shot confused faces at him so Rapunzel rolled her eyes and stepped in.

"He means, start at the beginning and stop once you come to the end," she huffed in explanation. "To paraphrase things." Hiccup sniffed with dry laughter for a moment before his face glazed over with remembrance.

"Well, you guys already know that my mom was more supportive about the whole dance thing than my dad," he noted. "So I'll spare the extensive back-story."

"Not a problem," Merida nodded. "I get parental relations issues – no need to explain yourself there."

"Can't say I've got experience," Eugene shrugged sadly. "But I agree about sparing the back-story."

"Same here," Rapunzel agreed. Jack merely nodded and didn't say anything. Astrid sat in silence and watched her closest companion with a concerned frown on her face, watching for any signs of emotional stress.

"Well, Mom was...she was always the one taking me to lessons and recitals and the what-have-you," Hiccup explained. "And when I started getting into tech, she backed me up with that as well. Had a few complaints about the costs...dancing and tech sessions weren't exactly cheap back home."

"You cut back on your other expenses to make up for it, didn't you?" Astrid remembered. "And she cut your chores money."

"She what?!" Jack spluttered. "Seriously?!"

"Well, that money went towards what I really wanted to do," Hiccup pointed out. "I guess after a while I learned to stop complaining about pocket money and just go with it. I loved what I was doing and Mom knew it."

"She sounds so nice..." Rapunzel sighed.

"Yeah – wish I had that kind of relationship with my mum," Merida muttered a little enviously. Now that was no secret to the gang. Merida and Elinor got on amicably whenever the others were round the DunBroch house but everyone knew they had to watch their toes and not reveal Merida's secret to her mother. As such, the DunBroch residence was the one least visited by the rest of the gang. Hiccup paused for a moment before continuing.

"Anyway, it was when I was fifteen...I'd just finished my Grade 7 ballet exam," he explained, his eyes misting over. "Mom was driving me home...must've been late autumn. Roads were pretty wet but nothing we hadn't tackled about a billion times before."

Jack gulped – he could already see where this was going.

* * *

 _Hiccup slumped back into the car seat, heaving a sigh of exalted relief as his trademark crooked smile broke out across his face. He'd just completed his Grade 7 ballet exam...at fifteen, that was no easy feat but he was feeling confident in his abilities. He'd spent way too much time doing extra practise with Astrid after school hours and constantly practising in the garden or his room whenever he had a spare moment to not pass this thing. His mother, Valka, was already smiling as her son buckled his seatbelt._

 _"So, how'd it go, Young Man?" she asked with a warm grin, her pale blue eyes twinkling._

 _"Pretty good actually, all things considered," Hiccup replied, chucking the duffle bag containing his gear into the backseat of the car. "Though I don't know if my feet were as pointed as they could have been for some of those leaps..." he mumbled, his smile turning into a dry frown._

 _"Oh! Astrid's really rubbing off on you, isn't she, Hiccup?" Valka chuckled, nudging her son playfully._

 _"She is not!" Hiccup protested, blushing madly through his freckles._

 _"She is so!" Valka teased, twisting the keys in the ignition and starting the car. "Always after perfection...you're both as bad as each other! Her with everything she does, and you mainly with your dance and your tech skills."_

 _"It's a tough business, Mom," Hiccup shrugged with a light smirk. "More effort you put in, the more it shows and the more people appreciate it."_

 _"I know, I know," Valka smiled. "Just take things one step at a time, okay?"_

 _"Sure, Mom."_

 _"AH!" Valka suddenly yelped, slamming her foot onto the brake and punching the horn. It beeped loudly as a car skid across the junction in front of them. "Good god...you'd think that people in a cold, wet country would know how to tackle road conditions like this a little better!" she huffed, looking around to make sure the coast was clear._

 _"To be fair, Mom, a lot of people driving today probably wouldn't pass their driving test if they were to take it now," Hiccup pointed out. "Dad especially."_

 _"Is that another general quip about your father?" Valka sighed._

 _"What? He's always in a rush to get places," Hiccup reminded her. "I barely see him."_

 _"You know he's a busy man, Henrik," Valka explained. Hiccup winced – there his mother went with the 'real name' again. Conversation just went from casual to serious. Great. "You both need to give each other a chance."_

 _"He...!"_

 _"Don't say he barely ever listens...trust me, I agree with you...but, I hate to admit it, but you don't exactly pay a lot of attention to him, either," Valka cut across her son before he could interrupt. "You're more like him than you realise, honey. It's not just me you take after."_

 _"As far as I can see, he's the strict-talking mayor of the town who's all about the paperwork," Hiccup huffed. "Me...well...what he does...it's not me."_

 _"You're missing the point, Henrik," Valka sighed. The car fell silent as Hiccup turned his gaze out of the window. There was an elderly woman standing on the street corner - Hiccup, who prided himself on observation, noted that her legs looked incredibly crooked, almost as if they were bending the wrong way. She also had what looked like a pestle and mortar tucked under her arm. As the car drove past, Hiccup shrugged it off. You had all sorts in this town._

 _"Anyway," Valka spoke up. "Back to a more cherry topic of conversation, does Astrid know how she did with her contemporary exam?" Hiccup brightened up instantly at the mention of his closest friend, recently turned girlfriend (it had been the talk of the town and Valka had taken up the role of 'Shipper Mom' spectacularly)._

 _"She says it went okay – that translates to it went really well," he replied. "We should both be getting our results in a couple of weeks – I'm taking her out the Friday after we get them."_

 _"Oh, that'll be lovely!" Valka grinned. "What've you got in mind?" Hiccup was now talking his own mouth off, if that was possible. The boy was normally fairly quiet but recently, if the conversation moved to Astrid, he could barely stop nattering._

 _"Uh...well...there's a movie that's come out lately that we both fancy seeing," he explained. "So I've booked tickets for that...then possibly a meal? Haven't decided where yet."_

 _"Well, you know the number one rule of eating out," Valka noted. "Avoid overly swanky but don't go fast-food unless in dire emergencies."_

 _"And casual diners are also a no-go for proper dates," Hiccup finished. Valka couldn't help but giggle – no longer were her son's meetings with the Nordic Blonde Hofferson Girl 'meet ups'; they'd officially changed status to 'date'._

 _"Exactly," she nodded when the car suddenly swerved. Valka frowned and quickly righted it but Hiccup spotted the wind blowing the trees outside the car. The trees, sopping wet with mid-late-autumn rain, were practically bent double. Her frown deepening, Valka pulled up into the nearest parking space she could find. "That picked up quickly," she remarked. "Must be one of those early storms," she guessed._

 _"We never get winds like this in autumn," Hiccup frowned, pressing his nose against the cold glass as he watched leaves shoot past the car and people rushing to get inside before their umbrellas flipped inside-out._

 _"Wait here a moment, Hiccup," Valka instructed. "I'll see if I can get any info on the weather front – it's hardly safe to be out here with winds like this," she added. "The Ingermans always have the news on in their café – they should know something."_

 _"Mind if we keep the engine running?" Hiccup asked. "It's ruddy freezing out there!"_

 _"Don't worry, Young Man," Valka smirked, opening the door a crack but using all of her strength to prevent it from flying off its hinges. "I'll keep the heating on. Won't be long! Sit tight!" she called as she dashed out into the winds and began stumbling up towards the café owned by the Ingerman family. As she did, Hiccup turned the heating up as high as he dared to keep himself from freezing and dug out his music player, stuffing the headphones into his ears and scrolling through his music to find a suitable piece for his next dance. Wait, maybe he should start making notes on the routine he was planning for the tech stuff for the girls' upcoming gig? What was that song they were performing this time? Something upbeat...maybe he should take another listen to that and start making plans for that instead._

 _"Which one was it? Which one...? Bah-ba-ba-ba-ba...ah-hah! There you are!" Hiccup muttered as he scrolled through his song list until he found the track Astrid, Heather and Rachel (or Ruffnut as the group nickname for her was) had told him they were performing next. Hitting the play button and turning up the volume to block out the sound of the engine running the heating in the car, Hiccup began bobbing his head along with the music and closed his eyes to get a better picture in his mind as to what the lighting would look like..._

CRASH! __

 _"ARGH!" Hiccup grunted as he suddenly felt himself being flung to the side. He was caught against his seatbelt painfully as it forced him back into his seat over and over as the car somersaulting across the lawn near the road where Valka had parked. Shielding his head the best he could, Hiccup braced for the final impact but not before spotting a fairly large tree almost pushing the car along the ground. The car came to a stop against another tree but was crushed and mangled almost beyond recognition. Hiccup felt a crushing pain shooting through his left leg – when he tried to move it, he found that it was trapped under the now-crushed-glove-compartment. His right leg had been thrown upwards in the commotion and was bent at a very painful angle but it was still free._

 _"HELP!" Hiccup yelled with all the strength he could muster, fumbling to get his seatbelt open. "HELP ME OUT!" he shrieked when his nose caught the smell of something acrid...something terrifyingly recognisable._

 _Burning petrol._

 _"No...NO! NO! NO! HELP! GET ME OUT!" Hiccup screeched, his throat burning as the fumes hit the back of his mouth. Hiccup couldn't see the flames but he knew they were there. The still-running-engine must have sparked it...Hiccup couldn't think of any other explanation._

 _"EEK!"_

 _"Someone get help!"_

 _There were shouts of terror coming from outside as Hiccup hammered the door, trying to find which way was up again. A trickle of something fell upwards past his eye...no, wait...he was upside down (_ Gravity, Haddock – it exists _). Desperately, Hiccup finally released the clasp on his seatbelt and fell from his seat...he instantly regretted that decision as his left leg was pulled incredibly painfully, making him scream in pain and breath in even more of the toxic fumes. To make matters worse, Hiccup could now see the flames. How were they burning so ferociously in such a wet environment?_

 _"HICCUP!"_

 _Hiccup recognised that shriek of horror. He knew that voice._

 _"MOM! MOM! HELP ME!" he pleaded desperately, choking for breath and struggling to get his other leg free._

 _"Val! Don't!"_

 _"Get away from there!"_

 _"GET OFF ME!" Valka yelled, breaking past the crowd of horrified onlookers towards her now-burning car where her only child was trapped and his life in mortal danger. Running to the side where Hiccup was trapped, she brushed the flames aside, ignoring them as they seared her fingertips and singed her hair. Smashing the window with the nearest stone she could find, Valka began working on freeing her son from the trap he was caught in._

 _"Mom...help! It hurts!" Hiccup coughed painfully, his throat burning through the smoke._

 _"I know, sweetheart! Hold on!" Valka replied urgently. Pushing herself into the car and clambering over her son, Valka wrenched the glove compartment upwards with all the strength a mother fighting for her child's life could muster – it was enough to free Hiccup's leg._

 _"Valeria! Henrik!"_

 _"Spencer!" Valka yelled in reply to the voice outside. It was Spencer Jorgenson – Valka's brother and Hiccup's uncle. "Pull Henrik out! Now!" Hiccup reached out a hand and grasped the rough palm that greeted it. Another hand grabbed his arm and began pulling him out before more pairs of hands hooked under his shoulders, quickly dragging him away from the vehicle which was now a blazing inferno._

 _"Wait! Mom's still in there!" Hiccup coughed violently as people tried tending to him. Spencer, along with his wife, Ingrid, plus the Ingerman family began running back towards the car to help Valka when everyone was blown backwards onto their feet and not because of the raging winds..._

 _The car had exploded into a ball of blazing orange._

* * *

Everyone sat in silence as Hiccup choked on his words as he told his story. Astrid had fresh tears forming in her eyes – tears of heartbroken remembrance; Jack and Merida had identical expressions of shock on their faces; and Rapunzel and Eugene looked at their friend with faces full of empathy.

"Both my legs were broken...it was a miracle they mended enough for me to get back to dancing..." Hiccup muttered.

"A miracle and a lot of physio," Astrid mumbled. The others winced collectively but Jack bit his lip – his gaze drifted to Hiccup's left leg and wondered if more had happened to it than just severe breakage.

"That's horrible..." Rapunzel whispered. "Hiccup, I...I'm so sorry..."

"That was really brave of her," Eugene murmured. "I guess...we've got her to thank for having such a great friend with us today." The remark was in no way witty or cynical but genuinely sincere and everyone knew how much Eugene truly meant it. If it hadn't been for Valka's actions, there would be no doubt that Hiccup would not have made it out of that car...he wouldn't be there in Burgess that evening.

"Yeah...I guess..." Hiccup choked, a trail of tears trickling from his eyes. "They...they never really found her. There...wasn't exactly much to find."

"That's terrible!" Merida exclaimed softly.

"You must really miss her," Jack noted quietly, his gaze darting back to the photograph on the mantelpiece. Hiccup nodded.

"She'd got me where I am today...I'll never forget that," he sighed, trying to stop himself from making too much of a scene. A forced grimace crossed his face in a half-asked attempt to come across as his usual cynical self. "Alright – you guys now know about my near-death-experience," he huffed. "Who else fancies sharing?"

"Hiccup..." Astrid sighed.

"No, 'e's...'e's got a point," Merida shrugged. "We've kinda pushed him into tellin' us this...we might as well return the favour."

Well...the party had suddenly turned grim...and that was a light way of putting things.


	14. Exit Left, Pursued by a Bear

Exit Left, Pursued by a Bear:

The group sat in a solemn silence for a few minutes as everyone darted glanced at each other, almost daring one another to tell their own tale of woe. None was doing this more so than Hiccup who had what looked like a mix between a half-asked glare and a sad expression etched into his face. The others kind of regretted pushing him into telling them about what had happened to his mother now.

"Cannae say I've got much that can match up to that," Merida mumbled, tucking her knees under her chin. "Well...kinda...but I was a wee lass then. Barely remember what 'appened."  
"What?" Astrid frowned. Hiccup stared at the redhead with a pressing look in his eyes. Merida sighed and buckled – well, it was only fair. Lifting her hair out of the way with one hand, Merida turned away from the rest of the group and lifted the back of her shirt up with the other hand. Most of her back was covered with the tattoo of the royal crest that had supposedly once belonged to Merida's ancestors...but hidden by her tank top and standing out a fair amount against the dark ink of the tattoo was a series of four long white stripes that stretched across Merida's lower back.

"Oh!" Rapunzel gasped in horror. Eugene retched slightly, as did Jack, whilst Astrid and Hiccup also cried out in horror.

"Holy...mother of nature..." Jack cussed. "What happened?" Merida let her top fall back down her back and let go of her hair, shaking it around her head again.

"Like I said – I was a wee lass back then," she shrugged. "Barely recall everything but...what I do remember...donnae like remembering it."

"We've all got baggage," Hiccup pointed out. Merida nodded in understanding.

"Bear attack," she said bluntly. Rapunzel squealed. "That's what happened...long story short."

"Hey, Hiccup just gave us his long version," Eugene reminded the girl. "We've got all weekend."

"Alright! Fine!" Merida huffed. "I was...what? Five? Mi' fam'ly was out for a picnic."

* * *

 _Merida grinned and ducked behind a large bush, giggling as she heard her mother calling out - they were playing their usual game of hide-and-seek, a staple for any of these family picnics._

 _"Where's my wee princess?" Elinor's cheery, smiling voice called. Merida buried her face in her head of bright red curls and tried to stifle her giggles. "Where is my tiny, noble maiden, fair?"_

 _"Has the wee lass won again?" Fergus chuckled from the main picnic area, chugging back some of his wife's homemade elderflower cordial with a Scottish Salmon sandwich in his other hand._

 _"She might have done!" Elinor called back playfully. Merida coughed to stifle a giggle, finding it harder and harder not to burst out laughing. "Ooh, when I find her I'm going to gobble her up if she doesn't reveal herself to me!" Elinor added dramatically. Merida finally lost it and jumped from her hiding place, holding her arms out wide in a dramatic reveal._

 _"Here I am, Mummy!" she grinned joyfully. "I win!"_

 _"Aah!" Elinor cheered, lifting her five-year-old daughter daughter off her feet and whirling her round in the air. Merida spread her arms out like wings, her laughter mingling with the sound of the bubbling brook close to the clearing that the family frequented for picnics. "There she is! My little summer firecracker!"_

 _"The lass conquers again!" Fergus boomed cheerfully from the picnic blanket. "See how she soars above us mere mortals in her triumph!"_

 _"I'm flying! I'm flying!" Merida crowed, flapping her arms as her mother brought her down into a laughing hug. "Let's play again! Again, again!"_

 _"Let's take a break for a few minutes, Merida," Elinor suggested, placing her daughter back down again. "Catch your breath for a bit."_

 _Merida reluctantly relented and plopped herself down next to her father, helping herself to some sandwiches and some drink, flushing almost as red as her own hair as her mother reprimanded her for eating too quickly and getting crumbs all over her face. As the family chatted and laughed, Merida's five-year-old brain relished in the surroundings - the greenery of the Scottish forest in the summer time, the gentle burble of the brook near the clearing, the sound of birdsong echoed through the branches on occasion…_

 _It was a good place to spend a summer afternoon for a five-year-old._

 _"Alright! My turn," Fergus announced. Merida squealed in delight, eager to start playing again. She already had a large winning streak (although that may be a parent allowing their child to feel the thrill of winning for a while) and was determined to keep it up. "I'll start by counting, wee one," Fergus continued. "You've got until twenty!"_

 _Merida fidgeted with excitement as Elinor covered her eyes to prevent her from 'cheating' by helping her husband before Fergus shut his eyes and began counting. As soon as he did, Merida scampered off to find one of her favourite hiding spots within the trees. She always made sure never to stray too far from the clearing - she didn't want to get lost after all - but went far enough in so that she couldn't be found too easily._

 _Meanwhile, Fergus paused in his counting and glanced at his wife, who was looking a little worried._

 _"What's bothering you, dear?" he asked gently._

 _"I just got a call from the ballet school the other day," Elinor replied. "Apparently Merida's not been paying much attention in class…I donnae want to get complaints about our daughter being a problem child!"_

 _"Ah, quit your worrying, dear," Fergus comforted. "She's five and you know her attention span. She'll grow out of it - donnae you worry."_

 _"But I do worry, Fergus!" Elinor protested. "I cannae help it! You know that!"_

 _"And I barely ever worry - that's why we're a wonderful match," Fergus grinned before turning his attention back to the game of hide-and-seek. "…nineteen, twenty! Ready or not! here comes Daddy!"_

 _In the trees, Merida snorted into her palms as she tried her hardest not to giggle. She'd picked a pretty good hiding spot, if she did say so herself. Her green t-shirt and dark skirt also meant that she blent in with the shadows very well. It would take a while for her father to find her._

 _Keeping an eye out for her father acting as the Seeker, Merida's playful smirk remained plastered on her face until she heard a slight rustling in the trees behind her. That rustle was far from the normal sounds that Merida heard in this forest._

 _Her playful joy suddenly dissipating, Merida slowly turned around nervously as the rustling drew closer. The sight that greeted her turned her stifled laughter into an unrepressed scream of terror._

 _"BEAR!"_

 _Fergus and Elinor started in horror as Merida burst from the trees, closely pursued by a large bear…larger than was normal for this area of Scotland. Elinor shrieked and ran towards Merida, scooping her into her arms before fleeing towards the edge of the trees, abandoning the picnic. Fergus began racing through the trees to find help but before Merida and Elinor could catch up to him, the bear stormed in front of them, eyes burning madly with crazed hunger…it didn't seem real._

 _With a swipe of its powerful paw, the bear sent both Merida and Elinor flying, sending the five-year-old tumbling from her mother's arms._

 _"ELINOR! MERIDA!" Fergus yelled in terror, skidding to a halt. Elinor fell dazed to the floor, as did the five-year-old redhead but the bear seemed to have interest only in Merida. The young girl screeched and covered her head in a desperate attempt to protect herself, curling facedown on the grassy clearing floor…_

 _A searing pain shot through Merida's pain and she didn't even realise that she was hearing her own screams mingled with her mother before she blacked out._

* * *

Once again, stunned silence filled Hiccup's living room as Merida recounted her own brush with death, one that had left her with four distinct white scars stretched across the diagonal of her back.

"That's…that must have been horrible," Hiccup remarked, shock filling his own voice. Merida had been so young during that attack…he couldn't begin to imagine how traumatised she must have been.

"How did a bear like that get into a supposedly safe forest anyway?" Jack frowned.

"Nobody knows," Merida replied with a shudder. "All I was told when I woke up is tha' mi' dad came back and fought the bear off, makin' sure me and Mum werenae hurt too bad…"

Rapunzel let out a slight cough but didn't make any further comment - everyone knew what she meant to say regardless. If a nearly fatal bear attack leaving Merida with gashes in her back was 'not hurt too bad' then the others hated to see Merida's idea of a mortal injury.

"…he lost a leg because of it, but it's because of him that Mum and I are still alive," Merida explained. "He kept that bear occupied until the forest rangers arrived."

"Wow…" Astrid murmured. That was all she really do…make a quiet exclamation of horror at the news of her friend's ordeal. Rapunzel shifted awkwardly from her place on the arm of Eugene's chair.

"Well…I guess…it's my turn now…" she mumbled nervously. "I can't say my story's got anything on how horrible Hiccup's and Merida's were, though…"

"We're listening, Rapunzel - no one's judging who has had the worst near-death experience," Jack comforted. "If you want to get it off your chest, go right ahead."

"I…I kind of need to, now that I've heard your stories," Rapunzel admitted. "I don't know much of it…I was pretty much a baby. All I know is what Mother's told me."

"Gothel?" Eugene clarified. Rapunzel nodded.

"So…what is your story?" Astrid asked softly. Rapunzel shrugged.

"Well…I've…never really known my real parents," she explained. "It's obvious to anyone with eyes that I'm not Gothel's daughter. But…the way we became a family…it's…"

"…complicated," Eugene grimaced, finishing his girlfriend's sentence for her. Rapunzel nodded before continuing.

"It was April, I think," she began. "I was very, very small…too young to really remember anything. Gothic told me that…one night there was a massive storm and she was on her way home from work at the local florists and…she found me."

"Wait…you were abandoned on the roadside?!" Hiccup spluttered in shock.

"Not quite," Rapunzel shook her head. "I was lucky Gothel saw me, honestly. She told me that there was a flash of lightning and something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye from a nearby alleyway."

"Taking a second look, she saw a tiny figure curled up in a puddle," Eugene explained. "Looking closer, she found out that it was a baby."

"You?" Merida blinked in shocked horror, looking at Rapunzel who nodded in reply.

"I was so lucky she found me," she sniffed. "If no one had found me…there's no way I would have made it."

"Have you ever tried to find your real parents?" Jack asked cautiously.

"Oh, sure!" Rapunzel confirmed. "Mother's still looking to this day - she says she might close to finding them," she explained, hopefully. "I…I don't want to think that they left me to die…" she choked slightly. "I want it to just be some mistake…I want them to be looking for me…"

"You'll find them," Eugene promised. "You'll see." Rapunzel smiled ever so slight and squeezed his hand. Hiccup smiled sadly from his seat.

"You know…at least we all got a happy ending out of all this," he shrugged without the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I don't know if anyone else has any death defying tales to tell but…"

"Oh, no - I'm good…in fact, I'm seriously recounting my lucky stars now," Jack said quickly, darting a concerned gaze around his friends. Eugene put his hands up.

"Hey, I don't do sob-back-story, remember?" he pointed out. "Mine's pretty much the unlucky orphan tale. Nothing like what you three have been through," he added, gesturing to Rapunzel, Hiccup and Merida. Astrid forced a smile which grew more genuine as she spoke.

"I guess…here's to a happy ending?" she suggested, holding up he mug which contained the dregs of a coffee within. The others smiled, happy to have their dark pasts off their chests as they collected their own mugs and joined the toast, regardless of whether or not there actually was any drink left in their mugs.

"To a happy ending," they chorused.

* * *

Deep within the woods outside Burgess, the woman paced through her tiny cottage once again, watched closely by her dog and cat. A large pestle with an equally large mortar rested on the side, the vessel bubbling with a cloudy substance that couldn't seem to make up its mind as to whether it was liquid or gas.

"Is it not the time?" the cat asked nervously, its ears flat against its head.

"Soon enough," the woman replied. "The timing must be perfect."

"But why so precise? Why all of them at the same moment?" the dog whined, its tail tucked underneath its body.

"I told you before," the woman answered with a soft calm that chilled the room without the late autumn winds rattling the windows. "I won't let my food get away from me again."

"But _spirits_?!" the cat mewed.

"A change in palette," the woman shrugged. "And what better than four of the most revered beings of the Realm of Moonlight?"

 **Double update today because I missed it on Wednesday. We get another glimpse at the villain, and some more of the gang's backstory. I'll see you guys on Wednesday with the next chapter!**

 **Also, trivia for this story is now being added to the Trivia segment of my profile page. If you want to see any of the background information for the story so far, be sure to check it out (more will be added as the story gets updated).**


	15. Dancing Alone

**It has been a REAL pain trying to upload this chapter... Sorry for missing the update last Wednesday, guys! Double updates today and Wednesday to make up for it.**

* * *

 _ **Dancing Alone:**_

Monday came back around before anyone really had anytime to appreciate the respite that the weekend had given them. Luckily, homework had been put on hold to allow everyone to recover from the late night that had been Round One of the dance contest so there were no complaints or panicking students frantically typing on notebooks or scribbling on a notepad to get last minute tasks done before class started.

Now, the group comprised of Jack, Hiccup, Astrid, Merida, Rapunzel and Eugene had taken to getting to school just after the gates opened in the morning, allowing them some time outside just before the school doors were unlocked. You could guarantee that Hiccup was normally the first one there, given that he lived right round the corner to the Academy - sometimes he was accompanied by Astrid but if not, she was usually the next one there. Rapunzel would be next, guitar in hand and the trio would have a quick singsong before Jack, Eugene and Merida showed up, usually at the same time.

Today, however, Rapunzel was the first one through the gates. Dressed in a pink long sleeved jumper over dark blue jeans, with her purple dance bag slung over one shoulder and her guitar case over her back, Rapunzel's bright-green eyes narrowed and she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she frowned in confusion. After nearly a whole term, she'd grown used to seeing Hiccup and Astrid already deep in conversation by the time she arrived at Moonstone.

Shrugging it off to a one-time-occurance, Rapunzel sat down at the usual spot on the wall by the gate, digging her guitar out to continue working on her music composition. Strumming the strings gently as so not to irritate passersby on their way to work, Rapunzel began softly singing the lyrics to her song.

 _Flower, gleam and glow…_

NO! Wrong song! Rapunzel winced and shook her head - good gracious, she'd been singing that song since before she could talk. She couldn't remember ever being taught it and Gothel for sure didn't know it…Rapunzel just knew it. Okay, try again.

 _All those days watching from the window,  
All those years - outside looking in…  
All that time…never truly seeing  
Just how blind I've been._

"Thought that one's not due to be finished until Christmas," Eugene's voice piped up, jolting Rapunzel out of the trace she entered whenever she started singing.

"Jack not with you today?" she asked, noting the absence of a certain white-haired boy.

"I popped round - he said he'd be in slightly later today," Eugene explained. "He's helping his mom and aunt with a few errands." Rapunzel nodded and shifted slightly so that she was comfortable. "The Round One Champs not shown themselves yet?"

"No, haven't seen them," Rapunzel replied with a frown. "First time I've ever beaten them to school."

"OI! Lovebirds!" a heavily accented voice yelled. Eugene and Rapunzel both turned their attention to the pavement leading up to the gate to see the familiar redhead.

"Morning, Merida!" Rapunzel greeted with a cheery wave. "You've not seen the others, have you?"

"Snow White was taking out the rubbish with his mum when I passed," Merida replied, dumping her bag on the floor. "No sign of Hiccup or Astrid."

"What's this about me and Hiccup?" Astrid suddenly called as she rounded the corner. Well…speaking of…

"Nooooothing," Eugene snickered, receiving a thwack around the head from Rapunzel. "Ow! Kidding!"

"Isnae Hiccup with ya?" Merida asked. Astrid shot her friend a sarcastic glare.

"I take it we're skipping the 'Good morning, how was the rest of your weekend?' part of the conversation?" she smirked.

"What? You two are inseparable," Merida shrugged. Astrid's smirk vanished to be replaced by a frown.

"I dunno - I knocked this morning but Gobber answered and suggested I stay out of things," she explained. "Not sure what's going on but I heard shouting."

"That doesn't sound good," Rapunzel winced.

"You sure it was a good idea to just leave?" Eugene asked. Astrid shrugged and was about to answer when Jack nearly collided into the gate after whirling around a lamppost at full speed. "Watch your step, Jackson - it's slippery," Eugene warned dryly.

"Sorry I'm late - Mom and Aunt Em pulled me into trash duties," Jack apologised. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing much apart from us wondering where Hiccup is," Rapunzel replied. Jack frowned and shot a glance at Astrid.

"He not with you?" he asked.

"I though that was obvious," Astrid replied dryly. "Look, I heard shouting over at his - Gobber told me that…"

"Wait, shouting?" Jack repeated, looking genuinely horrified. "Whose?"

"You wouldn't believe this - it was _Hiccup_ shouting," Astrid replied with a look of genuine shock in her eyes.

"What?! That guy never raises his voice above stage-projection level!" Eugene exclaimed. Rapunzel nodded - even with the fiasco of her signing Hiccup up for the dance contest behind his back, Hiccup hadn't truly shouted at her. He'd raised his voice and was close to shouting but she'd never heard him raise his voice above a level where you could hear him clearly from the back of the Main Hall without the use of a microphone…and he could do that without shouting, which was an achievement in itself.

"D'ja have _any_ idea what's goin' on?" Merida asked, her eyes wide with worry.

"No, and I hate that!" Astrid replied. "I've known Hiccup since…forever…and I've never heard him shout like that."

The bell went before the conversation could continue - knowing that they couldn't stay and wait for Hiccup whilst everybody else began filing through the gates on the way to homeroom, the group began reluctantly walking inside, all the while casting glances over their shoulders in an attempt to see if they could find Hiccup somewhere in the crowds.

* * *

The homeroom had all but filled save for one seat and everyone, not just the team, were wondering where its occupant was.

"Are we sure that no one has seen Henrik?" Mrs Reine asked, her brown eyes narrowing with concern. Her gaze flitted over to the group she knew to be the boy's best friends but everyone just shook their head in confusion.

"No, Ma'am," Jack replied with a worried quiet tone.

 _BANG!_

"EEK!" the class chorused as the door suddenly swung open, crashing against the wall. The person storming through the doorway had blazing green eyes and wild brown-auburn hair.

It was Hiccup.

"Sorry!" he winced, catching the door before it did any extra damage to the building. "Didn't mean that…sorry I'm late, Mrs Reine," he apologised, although the fire in his forest-green eyes was terrifying, so much so that even Merida and Astrid had shrunk a little. "Got caught up at home."

"Save explanations for after homeroom, Henrik - take a seat," Mrs Reine replied as calmly as she could, although her knuckles had turned white from her clutching her book so tightly. Satisfied that her class was all present, she went to announcing the school notices for the week whilst Jack and the others turned to Hiccup.

"Where _were_ you, man?" Jack hissed in concern.

"Home - I just said," Hiccup replied bluntly.

"Dude, you okay? You look madder than Merida did when I picked up her bow for five seconds and I though I was gonna be murdered on the spot then," Eugene remarked. Merida shot Eugene a glare - nobody touched her bow. End of.

"I'm fine, okay?" Hiccup snapped. Astrid coughed.

"I _will_ end up making that reference one of these days," she grumbled.

"Please don't," Hiccup mumbled back.

"Hiccup, we know you well enough to tell that you are anything but fine, okay?" Rapunzel pointed out. "You've said that phrase so many times that we know you use it to cover stuff up."

"It's not healthy, ya know?" Merida grimaced. "Keeping stuff that's bothering you to yourself. I thought we established this."

" _When_ did we establish that?!" Hiccup hissed.

"Like, Saturday afternoon, ya nimrod!" Merida pointed out.

"Hiccup, what was going on earlier?" Astrid asked. "I knocked this morning but Gobber said I'd come at a bad time…to be honest, he was right. I've never heard you lose it like that! Who were you shouting at?!"

Hiccup finally caved. Clearly, once again, there was no getting out of this one - his friends were a pushy bunch.

"It was my dad, okay?" he admitted.

"Your dad?" Jack repeated in confusion. "I thought he's the mayor of your hometown - what's he doing out here?"

"My thoughts exactly," Hiccup grunted. "Out of the blue he suddenly makes up his mind that he wants to show up over here and announce that he's planning to pull me out of Moonstone."

'HE WHAT?!" Merida shrieked, attracting the attention of the rest of the class. "Sorry! Ignore me!"

"Yeah, you heard me," Hiccup growled, resting his chin in his arms. Astrid looked horrified. "Okay, if it was closer to the start of the year, I'd be less ticked off but we're in the lead up to the end of our first full term! It's beyond ridiculous!"

"Did you tell him that?" Rapunzel asked, because she had a sneaking suspicion that he had. Hiccup's nod confirmed her suspicions.

"I said exactly that and you want to know what his response was?"

"Oh, no…this sounds bad…" Eugene grimaced before Hiccup sat up slightly before doing an impression of what the others could only assume was of his father, Stan.

"He just goes, _Are you callin' your father ridiculous, young man?_ " he impersonated with a thick accent. "No regard for the actual lack of logic his actions have! He just takes offence that I am rightly calling him an idiot and still thinks he's in the right!"

"You…did technically run away from home," Astrid pointed out.

"Not helping!" Hiccup huffed.

"But I agree with you," Astrid continued. "I don't get why he's waited this long…that is beyond ridiculous."

"How did you come back after tha' question?" Merida quizzed.

"I told him that, yes - I am calling my father ridiculous and that he can't make me leave Moonstone just because he suddenly thinks he can," Hiccup answered. "That…discussion…escalated and he threatened to…" Hiccup suddenly cut himself off. Astrid bit her lip in worry as Hiccup took a few deeps breaths before continuing. "He threatened to…file a lawsuit but I countered that…I'm on the school roll…and that he can't pull me out all of a sudden without…it being considered…as a possible…abduction attempt or…whatever…I don't know," he rambled.

Jack frowned. There had been way too many pauses in that explanation for his liking. He'd been around long enough to guess when people were hiding something and he was getting that vibe from Hiccup now.

"Did…you say anything else?" Rapunzel asked quietly.

"I said he had to at least let me finish this year," Hiccup replied, far more fluidly this time. "So, basically I've got until next summer to persuade him to let me stay."

"Well, when he sees how well you're doin' _especially_ in dance class, he'll 'ave no choice," Merida smirked encouragingly. "I donnae care if he's not a fan of the whole dance scene - it's your life, isnae it? You do what you want with it!"

"Plus there's the contest - you got one of the Dancers of the Evening mentions in Round One!" Rapunzel added. "That _has_ to count for something!"

"Listen - you're our best friend, buddy," Eugene smiled warmly, reaching over from his desk and patting Hiccup's shoulder. "We've got your back. Remember that, okay?"

Hiccup tried smiling, although it came out more like a grimace, and thanked the others for their support. Right now, that was what he needed.

* * *

Jack finished the final line of the song as he, Eugene and Hiccup ended their practise run that evening in Music class. None of them had music as a major and had been put together in the same class, so for this project they'd decided to team up for the group collaborative song. Jack and Eugene took the vocals along with guitar and bass whilst Hiccup tackled the keys (they had Jim on the drums).

"Nice one, guys," Eugene congratulated. "We've got this in the bag."

"Don't ask me to join up in a singing contest if there's ever one because not happening," Hiccup snickered as he switched his equipment off. Now Hiccup wasn't bad on the piano but he was far from professional (he could bash out a few chords, that was it) and his musicality when it came to tuning his own voice was non-existent.

"Don't worry - we'll keep Rapunzel away from the signup sheets if that ever happens," Jack promised. "Nice going, Jim!" he added.

"Thanks!" Jim grinned. "Felt good." He glanced at his watch and started. "Whoa! I'd better get going - Mom's expecting me back at the bar to help out with cleanups."

"Ouch - good luck with that, man," Hiccup winced. "You heard from Tadashi lately?"

"Yeah - he got back to San Fransokyo alright," Jim replied as he began gathering his stuff. "He's started working on his next project."

"You're heading down there after Christmas, aren't you?" Eugene noted. Jim nodded before calling out his final farewell, vanishing out of the door. Jack had begun gathering up his own belongings, as did Eugene, although Hiccup was lagging behind. "You doing alright, Hiccup?"

"Yeah…I'm fine," Hiccup sighed. "Just taking things slow tonight."

"If you want to avoid your dad, you know you can always crash at mine," Jack offered. "Mom won't mind - I can sleep on the couch."

"Nah - thanks for the offer, Jack, but I'll pass," Hiccup declined with a crooked smile. "I'll deal with Dad - don't worry about me. There're just some things I want to take care of here first, that's all."

"Working on your dance stuff for Round Two?" Eugene guessed.

"Yeah - group choreography for this one, wasn't it?" Hiccup remembered. Jack checked his phone emails - there was the latest one from the contest organisers.

"Just got the details through - choreography has to involve a group of at least six additional dancers but at the same time, the lead dancer has to remain the focus," he read. "Looks like another balance of individual talent and teamwork again."

"Right, thanks," Hiccup nodded. He gathered up his things and headed out of the music classroom but instead of heading for the exit began heading towards the dance studios. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, then?"

"Sure - take care of yourself, man," Eugene waved as he headed towards the gate. Jack waved alongside him as Hiccup vanished from sight into the dance area of the Academy. As he and his friend began walking down the road back towards their homes, Jack couldn't shake the feeling that something was incredibly off with Hiccup. Aside from the obvious distress of his father suddenly arriving from Norway, Hiccup was acting very shifty and was evidently hiding something from his friends…something more than the incident that had ended in his mother's death over two years ago.

"Say…uh…Flynn," Jack suddenly skid to a halt, using Eugene's nickname for a change. "I just remembered I forgot my tap shoes in my locker - Emma wanted to see my routine."

"You want me to wait here whilst you get them?" Eugene offered.

"No, don't wait - you've got a video chat with Rapunzel to make, remember?" Jack pointed out. Eugene face-palmed at his own forgetfulness and began jogging home, not wanting to miss the agreed time, as Jack shouted a goodbye after him. Once he was sure the coast was clear, Jack headed back inside the gates of Moonstone Academy but instead of heading back through the main door towards the corridor where his locker was located, he instead ducked into an alcove in the walls, out of sight from the main road as well as security cameras.

He needed to be for this.

"Mother Nature, now would be a good time for you to show up…" Jack mumbled to himself. The wind rustled the trees nearby as if carrying the message from its long-time friend and trying to find the Spirit of the Earth herself. After what felt like ages but was in reality probably no more than a few minutes, Jack spotted the figure of Mother Nature herself. She wasn't in her mortal appearance, where her hair was long and dark brown, tied in a long plait behind her back and she wore a green shirt with brown-denim dungarees, looking the part of a professional gardener.

No, this time her hair was loose and tumbling like a waterfall down her back and over her shoulders, blending colours of brown, green and autumnal reds and golds. Her garments had changed to a flowing gown made of spider's silk that shimmered with all of the colours of the earth - it was impossible to give it a single colour. Garlands of flowers decorated her hair and dress, with vines acting as a belt and a wreath of blossoms and leaves creating a necklace, making her look like one of women in Botticelli's _La Primavera_ , except even more regal…more striking. Only her face remained the same: narrow and sharp with a thin mouth and bird-like nose as well as her brilliant eyes - a unique and frighteningly beautiful blend of green, amber, red and ice-blue.

"What is it, Jack?" Mother Nature asked, her voice soft in her spirit form. "This better be worth my time."

"Look, I just need to go invisible and have access to my powers for a few minutes, okay?" Jack requested dryly with a slight huff. In her mortal appearance, he could just about deal with Mother Nature - her personality was still there but seeing her in dungarees almost made her normal. She still terrified Jack, don't get me wrong. But in her spirit form…her true power showed even if she wasn't doing anything. Jack knew he had to watch his toes around this spirit.

"And why would that be?" Mother Nature pressed.

"Something's bothering me about Hiccup, okay?" Jack explained. "I kind of what to see what's going on without him knowing that I'm there."

"We don't know if he'll be able to see you," Mother Nature pointed out. "After all, if he is one of our missing Season…"

"If they could see me, I think Manny would have let me do this mission without having to go to school," Jack pointed out sarcastically. He apologised quickly for his tone but Mother Nature held up a hand - he had a valid point so she wasn't going to argue with him on that front.

"Alright, I'll agree with you there," she sighed. "But what is bothering you about him exactly?"

"It's like he's hiding something," Jack explained. "I mean, it might be nothing but it's going to keep bothering me if I let it slide." Mother Nature, almost floating above the ground as her dress billowed around her ankles, pondered for a moment before summoning an all too familiar staff in her hands. It was Jack's shepherd's-crook-shaped staff, which he hadn't held since starting Moonstone Academy nearly a term ago.

"You get five minutes," she said firmly. "After that, I'm taking you home myself… _nephew_."

"Okay, fine! Understood!" Jack flinched slightly. By the stars, he never could tell if the woman was joking or not! At least Tooth made it clear when she was playing with somebody. North? Eh, most of the time he was trying to make others laugh. Bunny - of course it was obvious when he was playing around! He was so serious most of the time! Sandy - again, always looking to make people smile.

Mother Nature was another matter entirely.

The moment Jack's hand came into contact with his staff, he felt a cold rush surging through his body - he welcomed it and exhaled in exhilaration when it ended. As well as this, the wind picked up eagerly, lifting Jack off his feet as he laughed joyfully - by the _Moon_! He'd missed this! Purely out of wanting to have some fun the way he used to, Jack looped around the trees for a few seconds before remembering his five minute time limit, so he shot back towards Moonstone before Mother Nature had his hide for wasting her time.

"Alright, Hiccup…where are you?" Jack muttered to himself. Hiccup had said he would be in the dance studios so Jack made that his first port of call. All of the studios had at least one window so Jack began scanning each of them to see if he could spot his friend. He couldn't spot him immediately but there was one studio window on the top floor that caught the Guardian of Fun's attention.

The reason? This window was the only one that had the blinds drawn.

"That's weird…janitors aren't due to do their rounds until six," Jack frowned. The clock nearby showed that it was quarter to. Why would a blind, that was kept open all day to let as much natural light into the room as possible, be drawn before it was time for the janitors to be doing their rounds of the rooms?

Flying over, Jack formed a lock-pick out of thick frost and slowly prised the window open a crack. The wind caused the blind to flutter slightly which gave Jack a small glimpse into the room. He moved quickly and opened the window wide enough to let himself into the studio and nearly froze in place (wow…a Winter Spirit freezing in place…that would be the day) when he saw who was occupying it.

"Shoot!" Hiccup cussed under his breath as the blind fluttered upwards. "I thought I closed that!"

Jack was about to speak before, to his surprising horror, Hiccup walked right through him. After a brief moment of quick breathing, Jack calmed himself down - he was expecting it. Hiccup, Rapunzel and Merida all knew Jackson Overland Frost but as far as believing in _Jack Frost_ …that had always been a long shot, not to mention they were all nearly eighteen: an age at which kids automatically lost their ability to see supernatural beings like Guardians.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Jack slunk into the corner of the studio, unseen by the person he considered one of his best friends, as Hiccup quickly closed the window and blind again. Jack cast his gaze around the room - Hiccup's couldn't have been there long. His duffle bag containing his gear was unopened by the door (which had black sheets of paper placed over the glass segments, blocking the view from the corridor like they would during an exam) and the computer had only just been switched on by the looks of things. Jack then spotted the studio's security camera - there was another lens placed over the top of it.

Jack's frown deepened, as did his suspicions that his best friend was hiding something. Hiccup was clearly taking measures to make sure he wasn't seen…but what was it that he was keeping from everyone that he didn't want others to know about?

Jack's attention turned back to Hiccup as the young man headed to the laptop and slipped a memory stick into the drive. After navigating through the folders, Hiccup clicked on a music file and walked into the centre of the room where there was a single chair - just a simple one, nothing overly fancy. Jack smirked to himself as he remembered one of the scenes from _Billy Elliot_ where the titular character was taught his balance using a chair.

The Guardian of Fun nearly jumped out of his skin as the music suddenly started playing with a loud opening note from the strings. The music instantly softened to the percussion with a faint hum of the strings in the background. As the music began playing, Hiccup began dancing.

Now, Jack had seen Hiccup dance before and had always been astounded at the boy's level of skill - he rivalled professionals in the theatre at the age of seventeen! Jack was no expert but after three centuries roaming the world, he knew talent when he saw it. But this…this seemed different somehow to the dancing Hiccup had done before. As the music played, he seemed to almost go through warm up exercises, stretching and performing various moves that Jack thought to be more common of the start of a ballet class. Yet, somehow, this seemed intentional…like a routine.

Hiccup's dancing continued and matched the mood of the music, slowly and almost cautiously. His face was etched with emotion - focus and passion. Jack could tell that this was something that meant a lot to his friend…something he'd put so much of his life into. It was mesmerising…more than admirable.

As the music progressed it gradually became increasingly powerful, building up as the winds and even choral sections joined the strings and the percussion. Just as in _Billy Elliot_ , Hiccup began spinning the chair around with one hand resting on it and began performing spins and other steps around it, keeping himself perfectly positioned as to not disturb the chair. After a time, he lifted the chair over his head and spun across the space, his eyes closed as he relished in the freedom that dance gave him.

Jack recognised the feeling in Hiccup's face. He knew that freedom. It was the same feeling he got when he was flying.

Hiccup soon placed the chair in the corner of the room and continued his routine without it, performing a few pirouettes and other steps but there was something that Jack took particular note of. A lot of the time when Hiccup performed a move which required power from the leg for one reason or another, the majority of his weight was placed on his right leg.

The music was reaching a climax and Jack's attention wouldn't leave Hiccup. The young man's skill was more than he'd shown in the contest the previous week, if that was at all possible. Hiccup reached the corner of the room and seemed to paused for a moment. Jack noticed him taking a deep breath before launching himself into a series of pirouettes, travelling diagonally across the room before reaching the centre where he spun on the spot continuously, this time on his left leg. How he was managing without getting dizzy was beyond Jack who was almost hypnotised by the performance he knew Hiccup didn't want people to see for some reason. Exactly what that reason was, Jack had trouble fathoming. This was startling…beautiful, almost.

The music suddenly died down and as it did, Hiccup stopped spinning and held a position, his face etched with a pained passion that Jack couldn't recall seeing in his three hundred and eighteen years of being on Earth. Slowly, Hiccup lowered his arms and took a few deep breaths as he came to rest, the music dying away in the background. Jack couldn't shake himself out of the mesmerised trance the dance had held him under until Hiccup knelt down to fetch his shoes.

That was when Jack saw it.

A flash of metal.

A flash of metal where Hiccup's left foot should have been.

Hiccup waited for the music to come to a stop before he collected the memory stick - as he left the room, Jack slipped out unseen behind him and waited for Hiccup to vanish downstairs before he left out the back exit where, once he stepped outside, he felt his staff being snatched from his hands. Whipping around so quickly it was a miracle he didn't get whiplash, Jack heaved a sigh of relief when he saw it was just Mother Nature.

Well, rather _her_ nicking his staff than Pitch or someone of the like.

"Time's up," the Earth spirit said simply. "And? Did you find out what he was hiding?"

"…Yes," Jack replied quietly after a pause.

"And?"

"…I know why he's kept this a secret," Jack answered when Mother Nature pressed him. "I won't press him about it."

Nodding in satisfaction, Mother Nature placed a hand on Jack shoulder - Jack blinked and the next thing he knew, both his and Mother Nature (now in her 'Em-Jay' appearance) were on the porch outside their house. Jack remained quiet for the rest of the evening, which startled his mother and Emma, the latter of which wouldn't stop asking if Jack was okay. Jack insisted that he was fine and went up earlier than normal to bed, saying he was tired. Of course, that only served to make his family more worried but Emily-Jane told them not to worry about him.

As he sat on his bed, Jack cast his mind back to what he'd seen in the studio. Not just Hiccup's true potential as a dancer, although there was no denying that…but the secret Hiccup couldn't even tell his best friends. A secret that could jeopardise his whole dancing career.

Henrik 'Hiccup' Haddock had told his best friends that, the day his mother died saving him from a burning car, both of his legs had been broken and that it was a miracle he'd been able to get back into dancing. Well, only part of that was true. You see, while it was true that it _was_ a miracle that Hiccup had been able to get himself back into dancing, he hadn't just broken both of his legs that day. The right one, yes. That had been broken. The left leg, however, was more than broken.

It no longer existed.


	16. Round Two Part One

_**Round Two Part One:**_

Christmas seemed to descend on Burgess before anyone really knew what to do with themselves. Okay, Christmas decorations and cards _had_ , admittedly, been on sale since before Halloween (Jack O'Lantern and Sam Hain had both been reported to be complaining about this and Jack couldn't say that he blamed them) but then came the snow and the lights and, once December rolled around and the Advent Calendars began, you could tell that the festive season was truly upon the town of Burgess.

At Moonstone Academy, this meant two things. One: Autumn Term finals. No one was particularly looking forward to those. Two: Round Two of the Dance Contest. Pretty much _everyone_ was looking forward to that. After the results of the first round of the competition, everyone was looking forward to what the six competitors would come up with for this round. This time, there was no partner work - just each individual showing off their choreography skills.

The second round of the competition would take place the day before the school broke up for the holidays. The six competitors had been juggling rehearsals for _that_ alongside prepping for their finals for the term which a lot of the student body considered an achievement in itself. Finals had taken place two weeks prior to Round Two and results came out astoundingly quickly - the very next week, actually. Although it had been a Friday so everyone had spent the weekend either celebrating or moping.

"WHADJA MEAN I ONLY GO' SIXTY-SEVEN PER CENT ON MATHS?!"

That had been the audible bellows from Merida's household the Saturday afterwards. Things had luckily calmed down by Monday but Merida was still fuming.

"I cannae believe this!" she huffed for the nth time that lunchtime. "What did they expect? Eh? We've been rehearsing for the contest alongside all this stuff! Cannae they cut us a break?!"

"We've still got to focus on our academic stuff," Astrid pointed out. "We just drew the short straw because we've also got other commitments."

"Other commitments…my behind! They shoulda though' o' tha' before they started that bloody contest!" Merida snapped.

"If it makes you feel any better, Firecracker, I barely scraped biology," Jack sighed, leaning back against the wall and his voice dripping with sarcasm, as per usual whenever Merida had one of her moments.

"Donnae call me 'Firecracker'!" Merida huffed. "Or d'ja want me to throw an apple core at your 'ead on purpose this time?"

"I'll pass, thanks," Jack responded cynically.

"Come on, guys - next round's on Friday," Eugene pointed out. "Now that finals are actually over we can spend the week focusing properly on that, right?"

"Ooh, I can't wait to see what you guys have come up with!" Rapunzel grinned excitedly. Hiccup smirked and coughed into his sandwich.

"Actually, I kinda know what you guys are up to," he admitted.

"Gimme a break!" Jack exclaimed.

"We've stayed _shtum_ about it for weeks!" Eugene protested. "How could you know?!"

"I'm on tech as well, aren't I?" Hiccup pointed out.

"Och…right," Merida huffed in remembrance. "That Hamada kid went back to San Fransokyo, didnae he?"

"Exactly," Hiccup nodded. Of course - the tech desk needed at least two people running it (although Astrid claimed that Hiccup was perfectly fine by himself with it) and the contest was mainly student run so Hiccup, as Jim's only classmate in the tech room, kind of had to when he wasn't performing. Their tutor, Bernard M.E Gamind, would take over just for Hiccup's performance - for this reason, he would perform last.

"So…looking forward to things?" Rapunzel asked.

"It's gonna be a fun night," Hiccup said confidently. "From the looks of things we've got a nice varied line up for the evening," he added jokingly. "I'm staying mum, though."

"You are no fun!" Astrid protested teasingly. "You know what we're gonna do and you're keeping us in the dark about it?"

"I thought you liked surprises, mi'lady," Hiccup teased back. Astrid smirked.

"Speaking of, you're going to love the surprise I've got lined up for Friday," she snickered. The others began pressing her. "Nope! It's a surprise! I'm staying mum."

The conversation went in circles for the rest of lunch.

* * *

"Contest night already?" Eugene exclaimed on Friday evening as he and the others milled around through their (now separate) classroom-dressing rooms getting ready for the evening. Everyone was trying to guess what their competitors' dance styles were from the looks of their costumes and Eugene believed he had a fair idea:

Merida and her dancers were wearing baseball caps, tank-tops, joggers (not too loose) and dance trainers. Conclusion: a hip hop routine.

Rapunzel and her group of dancers were kitted out in leotards, short dance skirts and regular dance plimsoles. Eugene had caught a glimpse of a ribbon baton so ribbon-dancing was the style he landed on.

Astrid's group were kitted out in what looked like suits gone slightly casual. Assumption: most likely jazz. The shoes looked like jazz ones as well so that also contributed to the guess. Astrid herself was nowhere to be seen backstage.

Jack's dance crew had been seen wearing clothes which looked straight out of a period drama. Hazard guess: folk dancing of some kind…Eugene cast his mind back to their first dance lesson and how Jack had utterly trounced Rapunzel with the hornpipe Mei-Mei had played.

Hiccup's group seemed to be dressed in African inspired outfits with tassels and bright colours adorning their outfits; although they were also wearing loose, full length trousers, and dance shoes normally used in contemporary dancing. After the combo from the last round, Eugene wouldn't be surprised in Hiccup had done a mash-up of African and contemporary dance, which would be interesting to see.

"Time sure flies, huh?" Rapunzel remarked, pinning her hair back into place (her classroom was choked with hairspray so she'd retreated for now). She eyed Eugene's outfit - again, it was a suit a bit like Astrid and her team but he was more suave with his. He'd even kitted himself out with a fedora. "Feeling confident?"

"You're talking to the guy who managed to steal the heart of the green-eyed-beauty who nearly knocked me out with a frying pan when we first met," Eugene replied smoothly. "It'll take more than a dance-off to rattle me."

"In all fairness, you broke into our house," Rapunzel pointed out.

"I was ten and a rebellious orphan and I thank you and Gothel for covering for me," Eugene chuckled, starting jokingly but becoming sincere as he finished his reply. "Though I feel for the burglar who dares break into your residence - you've got a good swing."

"Comes from being in the Grade 4 tennis team," Rapunzel grinned. Suddenly, Merida came out of her dressing room, hair tumbling wildly over her shoulders.

"Oh, hi!" she greeted. "You guys look like you're just about sorted."

"More or less - yourself?" Rapunzel asked. Merida adjusted her cap and bounced up and down on her heels.

"To tell the honest truth, I'm terrified," she admitted. "Mi' family's only gone an' shown up again!"

"Uh-oh…Mom alert, huh?" Eugene grimaced. Merida nodded.

"Och…she's gonna murder me…" she mumbled. Hiccup came stumbling out of his designated classroom, coughing as he went.

"I caught that *cough* someone's gonna kill Merida," he spluttered. The glitter from the hairspray was nearly all over his face. Seconds later Jack shot out into the corridor.

"What was that about a murder?" he asked, his hair still sticking up despite what looked like tons of hairspray _and_ gel trying to hold it down.

"Mi' mum," Merida groaned. "Donnae expect to see me for a meet-up over the holidays. More likely you'll be attendin' mi' funeral…"

"Hey, there's nothing *cough* Elinor can do about your choice of dance, okay?" Hiccup pointed out, clearing the last of the hair/glitter spray from his lungs. "Remember what you told me when I told you guys about my dad showing up out of the blue, huh?"

"Yeah, what was it?" Jack smirked. "Oh, right!" He cleared his throat and began doing his (very bad) impression of Merida. " _It's your life, isnae it? You do what you want with it!_ " he joked, receiving not much in return apart from a heavy thwack on the shoulder from the Scottish redhead.

"Jack's right," Rapunzel encouraged. "It's high time your mother knew that you've done what you want with you life and you're not letting her choices affect what makes you happy!"

"What Princess said," Eugene smiled. "Remember, Merida - we've got your back, just like we've got Tall-and-Lanky's back over here," he added with a smirk, indicating Hiccup.

"Who are you calling 'Tall-and-Lanky'?" Hiccup pouted sarcastically.

"Uh, let's see…you're the tallest here - being, precisely two inches taller than me…" Eugene counted off his fingers. "And…hate to say it my friend…but you aren't exactly holding a candle to this build," he added with a sly smirk, gesturing to himself. Hiccup raised and eyebrow - oh, say that to a ballet dancer and try living to tell the tale.

"Sure, we'll see about that," he shot back sarcastically. By this time, Merida was cheered up, if slightly.

"Cheers, you lot," she smiled before turning to Hiccup. "Oh…er…did you guys get the…umm..the thing working?"

"It'll be fine, Merida," Hiccup replied, clearly knowing what the redhead was talking about even if the others had no idea. "You'll be great out there and you know it."

"Right…cheers," Merida nodded. Her aquamarine gaze suddenly darted up and down the corridor. "Say, no one's seen Astrid yet, have they?"

"Can't say I have," Jack replied. "All her dancers are ready but I haven't seen head nor tail of her. Hiccup?"

"Don't look at me!" Hiccup shot back with his hands held up. "I haven't seen her since dance class after lunch."

The five minute call for the start of the show sounded so the dancers began filing out to the main hall, all calling quite shouts of good luck to the main competitors. Knowing that waiting around for Astrid wouldn't do them much good, the five friends headed out to the hall and took their seats in a shadowed spot just off stage (this would be used rather than the main floor this time round). As they took their seats, Hiccup scanned the audience - he spotted Gobber and…right next to him…was his father, Stan 'Stoick' Haddock. He'd earned this nickname for his ability to not show any emotion and just have a blank face whenever it suited him. Hiccup groaned inwardly - okay, admittedly he'd invited his father along to this one in an attempt to be civil but he still wasn't happy with him juts showing up out of nowhere.

"That your dad with the big beard over there?" Jack whispered, seeing where his friend was looking.

"Yeah, that's him," Hiccup mumbled back.

"Wow…he looks imposing," Rapunzel remarked.

"How come you got no warning of his arrival" Eugene frowned. "It's not like someone like him can just up and leave his town and you don't hear about it - don't you have other friends out there?"

"Sure! I don't know why they didn't tell me or Astrid he was coming…" Hiccup replied in a hushed tone, grateful that the non-lit area they were sat in meant that his father couldn't see him. The chatter in the hall was quietened when the dean stepped onto the stage.

"First of all, I'd like to welcome you all to the second round of the first Moonstone Academy Dance Contest," he greeted. There came some hoots and cheers from the students. "Second, I'd like to congratulate our six competitors for making it through to this round - judging from what we saw at the mid-term mark, competition will be tight tonight."

"Poet and he donnae know it," Merida muttered jokingly. The others stifled a laugh.

"Third, I would like to start this evening off a little differently," the dean continued. "We've had a voluntary contribution to tonight's proceedings from one of our students - coincidently, also one of our competitors tonight."

" _That's_ where she is!" the five friends chorused in an undertone. So what was Astrid up to?

"This will not add to her final score, I reassure the rest of you," the dean added, addressing the five remaining contestants. "This is merely for some added entertainment for the evening. I'm sure you five over there have figured out who will be gracing us with their performance shortly but to the audience, I've been asked to keep the reveal a surprise," he explained. "So, without further ado, let's let the programme commence."

To a polite smattering of applause, the dean stepped off stage and the lights dimmed. In the darkness, Jack, Hiccup, Merida, Rapunzel and Eugene all squinted in the direction of the stage - they had a fairly good view of what was going on given that they were so close but they still couldn't make out anything in the pitch blackness.

That was when the music started, causing a lot of people to suddenly jump out of their seats. At the same time, a spotlight lit up to reveal Astrid onstage, dressed in a red leather biker skirt over dark blue leggings as well as a sleeveless blue denim blouse. Her hair was held back with a leather headband and a thick plait, whilst on her feet she wore tan leather ankle boots.

No sooner had the music started that Astrid lifted a microphone to her mouth and began singing.

 _She got a body like an hourglass  
But I can give it to you all the time!  
She got a booty like a Cadillac  
But I can send you into overdrive!_

"Oh, my god!" Hiccup exclaimed as quietly as he could muster. He knew this song - Astrid and the others girls back home had spent weeks practising it for the gig that was due to take place after his Grade 8 ballet exam. They cancelled it after hearing that he was in hospital after the accident…hearing Astrid sing it now made Hiccup grin so widely he thought his cheeks would fall off.

But something happened that revealed that Astrid wasn't alone on the stage. The lights began flashing across the performance space, revealing silhouettes just behind the Nordic Blonde who was still in plain sight in the spotlight.

 _You've been waiting for that…Ooh!  
Step on up and swing your bat._

"What the…?" Hiccup muttered, his hand drifting to his mouth to cover the inevitable exclamation. The others spotted and watched curiously as Astrid finished the first verse solo, although there were hints of other voices behind her.

 _See, anybody could be bad to you -  
You need a good girl to blow your mind._

"LET'S GO!" Astrid yelled as the lights exploded on stage, revealing the full line. Hiccup couldn't hold back a scream of surprise when he saw who was accompanying his girlfriend.

Flanking Astrid on the stage were two girls: one with raven-black hair tied into a plait and bright green eyes, wearing a khaki top, brown biker skirt and black cargo boots; the other with dirty blond plaits and grey-blue eyes, wearing a light mustard-coloured t-shirt, a denim skirt, black leggings and sneakers. Both he'd seen at mid-terms via the video feed. Now they were live.

"Aren't they…?" Eugene called over the chorus as the girls kicked up the song a few notches. Before long, most of the audience were clapping and dancing along to the energetic movements of the group of stage.

"Yes!" Hiccup shouted back. "That's Heather and Ruffnut!"

"Looks like they brought company!" Merida pointed, indicating a spot near the front of the stage where three boys were dancing along particularly enthusiastically. Hiccup broke out laughing and cringing. The whole gang from Norway were there! No wonder they hand't told him and Astrid that Stoick was arriving - they were already en route by the time he'd left their hometown. By the time Hiccup had finished processing what was going on and nearly bursting into tears of joy over the surprise his girlfriend had put together, Heather was starting her verse. Her voice was of a very different quality to Astrid's but somehow it blended well with the song.

 _She might've let you hold her hand in school  
But I will show you how to graduate!  
No, I don't need to hear you talk the talk.  
Just come and show me what your momma gave! Oh!_

The trio joined in for the brief bridge as Hiccup caught Astrid's attention. She grinned and winked at him whilst he shook his head, grinning like a bashful idiot back. By the heavens, he was so lucky to have her in his life.

 _Okay, you've got a very big…Shhh!  
Mouth, but don't say a thing…_

Heather completed the rest of her verse, her narrow eyes glinting playfully in the stage lights as she tossed a few stray locks of hair out of her face.

 _See, anybody could be good to you -  
You need a bad girl to blow your mind!_

As the girls launched into the second chorus, Jack, Merida, Hiccup, Rapunzel and Eugene began having their own dance party from where they were sitting. The song was so upbeat and the girls were so energetic that the vibe was contagious - you couldn't help but let yourself have a good time. The second chorus came to and end and the girls' formation changed.

"Alright, Ruff!" Astrid grinned as Ruffnut walked to centre stage.

"Let me show you how it's done!" the girl smirked. Hiccup flushed bright red and was grateful for the low lighting - each girl had a main role in the group and Ruffnut was about to show hers.

Rap.

 _It's Myx Moscato…  
It's friends in the bottle…  
It's Ruff full throttle….  
It's all, all…_

Swimming in the grotto,  
We winning in the lotto,  
We dipping in the pot of blue pho-to!

Kidding so good,  
This drippin' on wood,  
Get a ride in the engine that could go!

Batman-Robin it. Bang, bang, cocking it,  
Queen Ruff dominate, prominate…

It's me, Heather, and Astri.  
If they test me, they sorry.  
Riders umph like a Harley,  
Then pull off in this Ferrari.

If he hangin', we bangin'.  
Phone rangin', he slangin'.  
It ain't karaoke night but get the mic 'cause I'm singing!

B, to the A, to the N, to the G, to the…  
Hey!  
B, to the A, to the N, to the G, to the…  
Hey!

There came a roar of cheers from the crowd as Ruffnut finished her solo segment - it was far from easy spitting out words the way she did but hey - she'd practically nailed it. Astrid took the final solo line before the group launched into the final set of choruses.

 _See, anybody could be good to you -  
You need a bad girl to blow your mind!_

The song continued as the girls jumped around on the stage, evidently having and amazing time, and that energy flowed straight into the audience members who were clapping and dancing along with them. When the final note sounded, everyone nearly deafened everybody else with the shouts and screams, particularly from Astrid's friends, both from Moonstone and the Norway gang.

"WOOT WOOT!" Hiccup cheered as the girls shared a hug and a bow, acknowledging their applause. Astrid was a jack-of-all-trades when it came to the performing arts but if there was one that she was a master of, it was when she was on the stage singing her heart out.

"Thank you girls!" the dean smiled, having to shout over the din filling the hall. "I think we can all agree that was absolutely incredible!" The volume raised slightly before things finally calmed down. "From all of us at Moonstone, I thank you and your friends all the way from Norway for performing for us all tonight."

"YOU ROCK!" a shout came from the front. Hiccup groaned and cringed, placing his head in his hands.

"Who was that?" Jack whispered.

"My cousin."

"Astrid, I wish you all the best of luck in the contest tonight, and to your friends - welcome to Burgess and I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening," the dean continued, unfazed as he motioned for Astrid to head backstage to get ready for her dance number whilst Heather and Ruffnut, saying their thanks, headed down to join the rest of their crew in the front row.

As the crowd got ready for the contest to start, Jack and his friends shot glances of good luck to each other. If Astrid's performance with Heather and Ruffnut was anything to go by, I think it was safe to say that they were in for a brilliant evening.


	17. Round Two Part Two

_**Round Two Part Two:**_

"With that amazing opening act, let's welcome our first contestant onto the stage," the dean announced as Round Two began properly. Hiccup took that as his cue and muttered a quick good luck to the others before dashing off to the tech desk. He wouldn't be on until the very end of the round so for now, he'd be helping Jim out with the tech. Eugene's face suddenly took on a confused look.

"Did…anyone actually have a tech run this time round?" he asked the others. Jack and the two girls suddenly froze when they realised that they hadn't. Okay…this could go very badly or they had to hope that the tech students knew what they were doing.

"I'd like to welcome Miss Rapunzel Corona onto the stage first," the dean announced. Rapunzel jumped to her feet and headed onto the stage as her dancers filed in behind her. "Best of luck, Rapunzel and let's see how high you can set the bar for this evening."

"Thank you, sir - no pressure, then," Rapunzel replied with a slight nervous waver to her voice. There was a small titter of laughter at her response but Rapunzel blocked it out and prepared to start dancing, clutching her ribbon baton in her hand. The group of friends squinted up at the sound desk to see Hiccup on the light controls whilst Jim manned the sound desk.

The music started - _Apologise_ \- and Rapunzel began with an opening solo and a gentle spotlight on her. Her eyes were closed, giving her a serene expression as she twirled the ribbon, making it flow gracefully through the air as if she was directing a stream of light. As the first verse progressed, the lights built on the stage, revealing Rapunzel's dancers. They were dancing perfectly in sync with each other, down the last twirl and spiral of the ribbons they were using.

Everyone watched mesmerised by the spectacle in front of them. The dancers seemed to create wondrous images and patterns with the ribbons they were using and while Rapunzel remained the main focus of attention, her dance team showed the same level of skill and contributed to the dance wonderfully.

The tech was also coming along practically flawlessly. Jack, Eugene and Merida kept darting their gazes up to the tech desk, wondering if anything had actually been pre-programmed at all and if it had, how had Hiccup known the cues and perfected them when there had been no tech rehearsal? The three friends were almost daring Hiccup to make a mistake, but for the entire duration of the song, there didn't appear to be a single slip up.

Just before the final chorus of the song, the lights dimmed slightly before coming back with a powerful flash of white-blue. Rapunzel and her dancers seemed unfazed by the flash and continued right to the end of the song, which Rapunzel finished with a solo again.

The hall erupted with applause as Rapunzel and her dancers stood in a line and took a bow. The dean came back onto stage as everybody else filed off with Rapunzel joining the others - at that moment, Astrid dashed across the stage and took Hiccup's now-vacant seat as the dean began congratulating Rapunzel.

"Sorry I missed most of that, Rapunzel," Astrid whispered. "Caught some of it on the monitors backstage - that looked amazing!"

"Thanks!" Rapunzel whispered back. It was all the conversation they were able to get in before the dean announced the next dancer: Jack.

"See you on the other side, guys," Jack mumbled as he took his place. The others patted him on the back for good luck and even Hiccup shouted his best wishes down from the tech desk (Jack responded with a shout of thanks).

"They seriously look like they've stepped straight out of the seventeen hundreds," Merida muttered in an undertone to the others, referring to the outfits that Jack and his dancers were wearing.

"We noticed," Eugene whispered back dryly. "I reckon it's some kind of traditional dance - he trounced all of us in class on Day One here."

"Shh!" Rapunzel hissed as the lights faded slightly. The music started - it was an orchestral piece and one that was immediately recognisable to anyone, even those who didn't study music: _The Sailor's Hornpipe_ from _Fantasia on British Sea Songs_ , also known as _Jack's the Lad_.

As with Rapunzel's dance's, Jack's performance opened with a solo along with the opening violin before the rest of his dancers began to join in as the flute entered the music. As Eugene had guessed, they were dancing a hornpipe but everyone was wondering how they would fare as the performance progressed: _The Sailor's Hornpipe_ was famous for its accelerando throughout and by the end it was going so fast that one in the audience would barely be able to see the musicians fingers moving as they played the notes.

The first minute of the song passed and by now, all of the students on stage were dancing as if they were in a May Day festival, although the accelerando had only just started to kick in. All the while, Jack moved among the dancers as if he were the King of the May, keeping himself the main focus of the piece although without the rest of his dancers, everyone knew that the effect would have been lost.

The accelerando exploded in the final minute of the piece but none of the dancers skipped a step. While it wasn't as smooth as Rapunzel's ribbon dance, they still kept in time with the ever-increasing-in-speed music and Jack led them all through the dance as if he were the Pied Piper. The audience couldn't help but clap along with the accelerating beat of the music as the dance progressed, getting faster and faster until finally the final chord was played.

Jack and his dancers finished with a flourish, panting and with sweat glistening off their brows but the eruption of applause was all they needed to hear. As the dean congratulated Jack, the white-haired boy and his team of dancers acknowledged their applause and took a deep bow when a shrill voice pierced through the applause.

"ALL HAIL THE KING OF MAY!"

Jack visibly flushed under the stage lights when he heard Emma but he grinned nonetheless as he shouted back a reply.

"Love you too, Sis!"

The dancers filed off the stage once again as Jack headed down to rejoin the others - Eugene was up next. Rapunzel gave him a quick peck on the check for good luck whilst Jack gave him a thumbs up - he was too out of breath to say anything for now.

The music began and it was an upbeat pop song, one that Rapunzel instantly recognised as it had been the track that Eugene had first officially danced with her to on their first proper date together: _Dance with Me Tonight_. People were pleasantly surprised - with an outfit like the one he was wearing, the audience was half-expecting a Michael Jackson number or something.

Eugene and his dancers were, once again, evidently incredibly skilled, even in group work. The dance was more focused on Eugene with the other dancers just providing some background movement, although the performance itself was still entertaining to watch. With his smart suit, Eugene gave the routine a touch of class, especially with the way he tipped his fedora on occasion - towards Rapunzel no less.

The dance came to an end and there was a round of applause around the room. The dean once again gave Eugene his congratulations as the dancers themselves walked off the stage. By this time, Jack had just about recovered from his own dance and was clapping along with everyone else.

"Nice going, Rider," he grinned as Eugene removed his hat and fanned himself with it. Trust me, it got hot under those stage lights.

"Cheers, Jackson," Eugene thanked in reply. "Well, three down - three to go."

"Next up - Astrid Hofferson!"

"Alright - I'm up again," Astrid muttered. "See you in three!"

"GO ASTRID!" the Norway crew shouted from the front.

From the tech desk, Hiccup smiled - he prided himself on his skills on the tech desk and Astrid had told him on multiple occasions that she would have no one else as her techie if she were ever to take to the road as an artist. As such, there was no way he was going to let her down - not now, not ever.

The music started with a strong guitar chord with drums entering straight afterwards. Astrid and her dancers were frozen in a tableau on stage as the lights went low and pulsed with the bass beat of the music. There was a bass guitar riff, one that everyone knew but the version of the song was a cover of the original.

It was a rock cover of _Beat It_.

The lights flashed up as the main guitar riff played and Astrid struck a new pose. Once the rest of the instruments began playing, the rest of the dancers began joining in with a strong hip-hop/jazz routine. Even though the contestants knew there had been no tech rehearsals for anyone, there would be no way of telling - they still had no idea if Hiccup had rehearsed in private or if he was improvising (if that was the case, even more impressive) but the lights pulsed and flashed with the dance perfectly, highlighting points of focus when necessary and lighting up the whole group when needed as well.

The dance was fast and furious in pace and tone, with Astrid's face set into a determined glare with her stormy-blue eyes sending out sparks of lightning as she moved. During the climax of the song, the lights faded to a single spotlight focusing on Astrid momentarily before the blue flash appeared again, relighting the entire stage as the final choruses began. Eventually, the music faded out as Astrid and her team finished in their ending tableau, and once again the hall was filled with the sounds of people clapping and cheering (none more so than the crew from Norway and the rest of the contestants, though - even Hiccup could be heard hooting from the sound desk).

"Thank you once again, Miss Hofferson - congratulations and good luck," the dean smiled as Astrid bowed and took her leave from the stage. "Next up is our final lady of the evening - I'd like to welcome onto the stage, Merida DunBroch."

"You've got this, Lass!" Fergus' booming voice came cheering from the crowd as a smattering of applause sounded. Merida, on the other hand, seemed frozen to her seat.

"Och…somebody shoot me now…" she whispered. Jack leant over from his chair and placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder.

"Hey - you've got this," he muttered reassuringly. "Don't think about your mother. Don't think about anyone out there. We believe in you," he added confidently, and possibly more sincere than Merida had ever heard him before. Something about the emphasis he'd placed on 'believe' had made her heart swell with an inner courage she'd never felt before. "Know that."

"Right…" Merida nodded, calming her breathing and heading away from her chair. She didn't head onto stage, however, but instead began heading backstage. "Wish me luck, guys…I'll see you on the other side."

"Knock 'em dead, Merida!" Rapunzel cheered. When Merida had vanished from sight, she turned to her friends. "Where's she headed, do you reckon?"

"Maybe it's something to do with what she was asking Hiccup about earlier?" Eugene guessed. "He seems to be in charge of a lot of the tech - maybe there's something she's using backstage for this thing."

"Like a lift or something?" Astrid frowned.

"It's possible," Jack shrugged. He was cut off when the music suddenly started, with a strong beat and almost aggressive pulse. Lights flashed on stage, showing silhouettes of the dancers, as well as over the audience where a glimpse of Elinor's confused face was caught.

Oh, right. _This_ was why Merida had been so worried. Elinor was expecting her daughter to be dancing a ballet routine - that was what she'd believed her to be doing all this time at Moonstone. She wasn't expecting a hip-hop or breakdance routine.

Particularly to _Do It Like a Dude_.

As the singing started, Merida was lifted by a jump from the back of the stage, springing into the performance area and instantly breaking into a strong and punchy routine. While it was clear that she was the main dancer, there was something about the way that her fellow dancers in the group were moving that stood out from the other performances of the night so far.

Whereas the other background dance groups had certainly contributes to their dances in a way that the performance wouldn't quite be complete without them, Merida and her dancers seemed to work together as one entire unit. They weren't always dancing the same steps, but the way they moved was seamless and flowed into each set of dancers perfectly.

If Merida had been nervous off stage, she certainly wasn't showing it here. True, her eyes were shaded by her cap but she was throwing her jacket offstage, performing flips and even her windmill-into-a-one-handed-handstand move that she'd shown off in class all the way back on Day One at Moonstone Academy. Her movements accentuated every lyric…every beat…to the point where you couldn't take your eyes off the stage.

All the while, the lighting and sound accompanied the dance impeccably - Hiccup and Jim as a team on tech were certainly a force to be reckoned with. Throughout the song, they worked tirelessly to make sure that the performance was as great as it possibly could be.

The dance came to an end as the music dropped out and the lights faded to a blackout. If applause had followed the other performances, screams of encores and congratulations nearly deafened everyone in the hall, as well as possibly waking up those in Burgess who had already gone to sleep. The house lights came back on to reveal Merida's beaming face as she drank in the praise, bowing several times with her dancers before they finally had a chance to leave the stage.

"Oh, sweet flowers and sunshine, Merida!" Rapunzel squealed as Merida rejoined the group. "That was incredible!"

"If you don't get Dancer of the Evening, something is seriously wrong with the judges!" Eugene added, rubbing the back of his neck in sheer amazement. Merida could only smile breathlessly in reply - that had been the greatest performance she'd given in her life so far. For now, there was one dancer left: Hiccup.

There was a wait of a few minutes as Hiccup made his way back down from the tech desk but once he was there, the dancers filed in behind him, all dressed in their brightly coloured African-inspired outfits. Astrid looked like she knew something the others didn't as she had a knowing smirk on her face.

"What's up, Astrid?" Jack muttered.

"If he's dancing to what I think he's dancing to…this should be something special," Astrid replied. That was all she would say on the matter - moments later, the music started with a strong beat and almost an African chant in the background. Unlike the other dances, Hiccup hadn't started his with a solo - it was his dancers that began the performance in a few groups.

Astrid squeaked slightly - her suspicions had been right. The song was _Waka Waka_ \- it had been the song of the football world cup a few years back but the song itself resonated with Hiccup a lot on a personal level. She quickly muttered this to the others to explain just as Hiccup made his own entrance into the dance.

The dance had a lot of contemporary elements but at the same time it had the energy and the upbeat power of African dance. Hiccup himself was beaming all the way through, and he managed to share the focus among himself and his dancers, creating a true spectacle of a performance. After the second chorus and the bridge, Hiccup performed a slow spin in the centre as the rest of his dancers circled him for a few counts. In the glimpses caught of him, Hiccup almost resembled a figure atop a a music box - his balance was that impeccable.

The music faded out and the dance came to an end. Again, the hall erupted with noise - cheers and hoots of congratulations resounded throughout the audience as Hiccup and his dancers took their bows. Once he'd left the stage, the dean walked on to announce the waiting time for the judging so the six friends headed backstage to cool off.

* * *

"Phew!" Rapunzel exhaled as she and the others stumbled backstage. "My goodness, guys! That was amazing!" she half shrieked.

"Hiccup - that was brilliant!" Astrid beamed, throwing her arms around Hiccup's neck - the young man laughed and hugged her back, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around in celebration. "Should've known you'd break that song out sooner or later," she added.

"You were amazing as well," Hiccup chuckled, placing Astrid back on her feet. "And Jack - wow…never seen anyone move that fast," he whistled in amazement. Jack rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged.

"Well…I practised…a lot," he replied sheepishly. "I'm surprised you kept up on tech."

"To be honest, so was I," Hiccup laughed. "That was the first real challenge I've had on the tech desk in ages! Thanks."

"You're welcome, I guess," Jack smiled.

"Quick question," Eugene cut in. "Did you pre-programme _any_ of that?" he asked, his eyes wide in incredulousness. To everyone's amazement, Hiccup shook his head.

"All improvised on the night," Hiccup admitted, diverting his eye contact from the others and flushing slightly under his stage makeup and freckles. "I've never been one for planning ahead."

"No way!" Merida exclaimed in amazement. "Good 'eavens, Hiccup! That's…I donnae…" she trailed off an held her hands up in surrender. "Nope. No words."

" _You_ , Miss DunBroch, were just incredible out there," Hiccup complimented.

"I've never seen anything like it for someone your age!" Jack added. Merida shrugged and smirked sheepishly.

"Well…now I've done it…Mum's…" she paused momentarily. "Mum'll have to deal with it."

"That's the spirit!" Rapunzel grinned. The conversation was cut short as they were called back onto the stage.

* * *

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think we can all agree we've been treated to a very high standard of dancing this evening," the dean smiled. The six friends were standing behind him, clasping hands with each other. "Our judges have deliberated and have reached a decision - let me tell you now it hasn't been easy."

"GO ON, JACK!" Emma screamed.

"HADDOCK! HOFFERSON!" came the shouts from the Norway crew.

"YOU'VE GOT THIS, MY LITTLE FLOWER!" Gothel's joyful shrieks came from the back of the hall. The dean calmed the audience down as he opened his envelope containing the results. Spotlights fell on the six friends (still no tense music, thank goodness). The first name was called:

"MERIDA DUNBROCH!"

"EEEK!" Merida screeched, collapsing onto her knees as the others swarmed her with a congratulatory hug. The dean even announced her as the Dancer of the Evening but she could barely hear through her tears of sheer elation. Eventually, she gathered the strength to stand back up and walk off stage to wait for the others - four people would go through to the next round. One down: three to go.

The pause began again. Then…

"HENRIK HADDOCK!"

"HADDOCK! HADDOCK! OI! OI! OI!"

Hiccup nearly jumped three feet into the air as his name was called out. After giving his friends hugs, he jogged offstage to join Merida. The next name was about to be called.

"Good luck, guys…" Jack whispered to Rapunzel, Astrid and Eugene. It was so close between the four of them, it was almost impossible to call.

"JACKSON OVERLAND FROST!"

Jack nearly let out a curse as his ice-blue eyes flew open in surprise - okay, when he'd started this mission, he never expected to be getting into something like this. For someone who hadn't focused on dancing in over three hundred years…well, he was doing pretty well for himself.

"The final student going through to the Solo Round of the Moonstone Academy Dance Contest is…"

The final three contestants were nearly breaking each others hands, they were gripping them that tightly.

"RAPUNZEL CORONA!"

"AAHH!" Rapunzel shrieked, collapsing into tears of joy as Eugene and Astrid hugged her in congratulations.

"Well done to our four semi-finalists. Mr Fitzherbert, Miss Hofferson - it has been amazing having you perform for us. Commiserations," the dean thanked, giving his congratulations to everyone. "To Mr Overland-Frost, Mr Haddock, Miss Corona and Miss DunBroch, the next round will be held at before the next midterm break. Until then, rest up, work hard and, of course, Merry Christmas."

Cheers of 'Merry Christmas!' and 'Happy Holidays!' echoed throughout the hall as the dancers headed backstage to get changed, ready to go home. Once there, the six friends all shared a celebratory hug with Astrid and Eugene wishing Hiccup, Jack, Merida and Rapunzel all the best for the next round. They promised to once again have a meet up over the weekend for a proper celebration - this time at Rapunzel's apartment.

Tonight had been incredible.

* * *

"I must say, Jack - you surprise me," Emily-Jane smiled as she, Jack as well as his mother and sister walked back towards their house. "And congratulations."

"Told you you're still the King of the May," Emma teased.

"You're never going to let me live that one down, are you?" Jack huffed jokingly. His mother gave his a proud squeeze around the shoulders and kissed his head gently.

"You were amazing, honey - you deserve it," she praised. Jack smiled, only now just realising how much he'd missed receiving this kind of praise from a real family member. Even the wind picked up playfully in congratulations.

"Pfft!" Emma suddenly exclaimed as the wind blew something into her face. Jack stopped in his tracks to help out - when he saw what it was that had flown into his sister's nose, he froze, as did Emily-Jane.

It was a small black feather; too small to belong to a raven or crow but too soft to belong to a blackbird. Jack and Emily-Jane shared a glance - this was exactly like Bunny had described all those months ago. Looking at the ground, the pair noticed a thin trail of feathers, barely visible against the darkness, leading into the forest.

"Think this warrants checking out?" Jack asked, the joyful glint in his eyes gone in an instant.

"Yes," Emily-Jane replied, summoning Jack's staff and handing it to him. She asked Emma and her mother to head back to the house, reassuring them that they wouldn't be long, as she shifted into her Mother Nature form and accompanied Jack to the forest edge. There, the trail split.

"Someone's leading us on," Jack deduced. "Which one do we take?"

"It would almost be better to split up…" Mother Nature thought. Jack instantly cut across.

"Oh, no! I have been watching enough horror flicks with Eugene to know that you never split up!" he argued. "Only bad things can happen." Mother Nature raised an eyebrow.

"The trees will let me know if you need my help - you know that," she pointed out. Jack huffed - oh, right. He forgot. No arguing with stubborn-as-oak Gaia. "I'll take the right - you take the left path."

She vanished, quite literally, into the trees before Jack got another say in the matter. Sighing in resignation, Jack felt the wind at his ankles and summoned his ice magic - using it to hop from branch to branch, spreading frost as he went (he kicked his sneakers off - he'd never liked those things anyway), he began to follow the trail of black feathers.

* * *

Hiccup was happily talking to Astrid on the way home, barely taking any notice of his father who walked with Gobber a few steps behind them. They talked about the competition and Hiccup even began shyly asking if Astrid wanted to go out for dinner at any point during the holidays - just the two of them. Astrid smiled at the offer and accepted it, saying she looked forward to seeing where Hiccup would take her.

Once they were inside the house and Astrid had gone to her own house, her parents waiting at the door, however, things started to get a bit awkward.

"Well, Dad?" Hiccup asked, trying to be as civil as he could, although he awkwardly avoided eye contact with Stoick. "What…did you think?"

"Son, I'm not going to lie," Stoick sighed as Gobber shuffled out of the room to check on dinner. "That was…incredible. Your mother would certainly be proud of you." Hiccup smiled sadly and refrained from letting a tear roll down his check as he took his jacket off and threw his trainers into the cupboard. "I hope you understand where my concern comes from, though…"

"I get it, Dad, okay?" Hiccup interrupted, possible more snappishly than he meant. "Look, I'm taking measures, alright? Now can we drop it? For the last time, I'm not leaving Moonstone."

"All I'm thinking of is the risk you're running here, Henrik," Stan 'Stoick' pointed out. "Listen, I know you think I don't realise how much dancing means to you. You need to know that I understand it's your life."

"Well, you're doing a poor job of showing that," Hiccup bit back dryly…almost cruelly.

"Son, I do not want you to have gone through so much to continue what you love only to be thrown out and unable to pursue it ever again," Stoick protested. "This is an internationally acclaimed academy you're attending here. If _anyone_ outside of Astrid were to find out…"

"They're not _going_ to, Dad!" Hiccup argued. "Please…Dad…I have worked… _way_ too hard to get in here," he added, trying to calm himself down but on the brink of angry tears. "Don't take me away from it now just because you're worried a risk I'm taking won't pay off."

"Three years is a long time, Henrik," Stoick pointed out. "How can you be sure you'll last that long?"

"Dad…please," Hiccup pleaded. "I just…don't make me doubt myself here, please! I don't need that!" Stoick fell silent, unable to find a response to his son's tone. Taking his cue, as usual, Hiccup excused himself and headed upstairs to cool off in his bedroom with Gobber shouting that there was some soup on the stove if he got hungry - he was going to take Stoick out to have a private chat.

* * *

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Elinor exploded the moment the DunBroch family walked through their front door. Merida groaned and faceplanted against the nearest wall.

"Och! You see? I knew tha' this would 'appen!" she cried in exasperation.

"All these years you've been lying to all of us? Lying to _me_?!" Elinor snapped angrily. Even Fergus' attempts to calm her down were falling flat - the triplets had escaped the the living room to avoid their mother's fury.

"Well, I knew that you would 'ardly be approving of it, didnae I?" Merida pointed out. "All my life it's been _'A lady pursues a delicate performing art - she does ballet - she does ballroom'_ and all of that utter garbage that you've been trying to shove down mi' throat whenever it comes to my dancing!" she shouted. "Did it not ever occur to you tha' I might want to do something a bit…oh, I donnae know…DIFFERENT?!"

"If you'd told me from the start, we would not be having this conversation, young lady!" Elinor snapped. Merida began tearing her hair out.

"I _did_ tell you from the start, Mum!" she protested. "I clearly told you when I was small that I _hated_ ballet!"

"You never said you'd quit!"

"Because a) You cannae take a hint and b) you didnae listen!"

"Ladies! Please!" Fergus tried to cut across but Elinor cut straight across him.

"No, Fergus! You stay out of this!" she ordered. "This is between me and Merida!" Merida crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I see where this is goin'," she growled. "You're going to threaten to pull me out of the Academy just because I'm not doing what you want me to do."

"Do NOT talk with that tone to me, Merida!" Elinor countered, her hair flying and her eyes blazing.

"No! I will talk with this tone because nothing ever gets through to you!" Merida yelled. Her shoes were still on - the evening was cool enough and the forest was right outside. "How about you actually come to find me when you're actually in the BLOODY MOOD FOR LISTENING FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!?" she shrieked, flinging the door opened before slamming it shut in her parents stunned faces, ignoring the shouts coming from both her mother and father.

Merida stormed through the blackness of the evening and into the trees. She wouldn't be going in too far - just far enough to get away from her mother and to clear her head. That was all she needed right now.

* * *

"Well, Rapunzel, I'd say this calls for a very special late dinner," Gothel smiled proudly as she and her adopted daughter entered their apartment. Rapunzel's bright green eyes lit up eagerly - 'special dinner' usually meant her favourite: hazelnut soup. "You were stunning tonight."

"You really think so, Mother?" Rapunzel asked, her face sore from smiling so much.

"I know so, dear," Gothel replied. "And Pascal would surely agree if he'd been there as well," she added as they passed Pascal's tank. Rapunzel fed him a few treats before following her adopted mother into the kitchen.

"At least I've got a chance to relax," Rapunzel sighed in relief, kicking her shoes off and tucking them away, letting her bare feet glide across the floor.

"Make the most of it, my Little Flower," Gothel teased. "The hard work really starts with the next round."

"Merida, Hiccup and Jack sure are really good dancers," Rapunzel noted. "You think I stand a chance?"

"Sweetheart, don't even think that you don't," Gothel replied. "You know how I feel about a lack of self-confidence." Rapunzel smiled slightly when her phone buzzed. "Why don't you take that into your room and have a chat with your friends for a while?" Gothic suggested. "I'll call you when the soup's ready."

Rapunzel grinned and thanked Gothel before disappearing into her room, jumping onto her bed to check her phone - there was a text saying Congratulations in German from Eugene as well as other messages of congratulations from her other school friends. Rapunzel smiled and got to work replying to the messages - she made it a point to answer texts as soon as she possibly could.

She was distracted when her door suddenly closed - she was sure she'd left it open and the apartment was new…it didn't let in draughts. Thinking it might have just been Gothel, Rapunzel shrugged it off and went back to the texts, not noticed the black feathers gathering in a corner of her room.

* * *

 **This website is giving me so many issues when it comes to uploading...**

 **Anyway, the story really starts to pick up from here on out. The main villain gets named in the next chapter, and it's another double update today because I'm going to be far too busy on Sunday.**


	18. Draw the Bait then Pounce

_**Draw the Bait...then Pounce:**_

Jack continued following the trail of black feathers through the forest, past the clearing where his small lake (okay, it was a pond but Jack liked to call it a lake) was located and through the gnarled trees, branches almost snapping at his heels as he passed by. The sensation sent shivers down Jack's spine - he hadn't felt this apprehensive since the first time he ever met Pitch in person. The forest seemed different somehow…it wasn't the same wonderland he'd woken up in three centuries ago.

The feathers seemed to increase as Jack followed the trail - eventually he came to a very small clearing indeed, one he couldn't remember coming across in the woods before. Pretty much filling the clearing was a single house, surrounded by leafless trees on all sides and standing on four strangely shaped stilts of some kind. On a closer inspection, Jack noticed that they were shaped a lot like chicken legs - okay, whoever lived here had a strange taste in home design.

Skidding to a halt on the ground, Jack held his staff up defensively as he neared the house. He hissed Mother Nature's name but unlike by Moonstone, the Earth Spirit didn't show. _Maybe she's held up or something,_ Jack guessed. Mother Nature was, after all, a neutral party and Jack didn't expect her to answer to a call immediately - she wasn't like the other Guardians. As Jack neared the house, the trees seemed to groan and the door swung creakily, making the Guardian of Fun nearly jump out of his skin.

"Oh, that silly door!" a voice sounded from within the house (actually, it was more of a decently built shack - it was too small to be considered a house by today's standards). Jack froze in position as he heard footsteps, gripping his staff tightly. A silhouette appeared at the door - was this the person Manny had been so worried about?

Jack was surprised when a woman he guessed to be somewhere in her late forties appeared at the door. She was remarkably pleasant looking - not at all threatening - with a slim build and almost a motherly look about her. Her clothing was a little strange, looking like something from rural Russia or the like (Jack's mind cast back to North's normal getup and wondered if this woman was from somewhere near when he'd originated from) and her eyes - a soft grey colour - twinkled kindly against her slim face. Her hair - dark, auburn brown streaked every so slightly with grey - was pulled into a loose ponytail behind her neck, framing her face softly. For some reason, Jack was half-certain that he'd seen her somewhere before.

"Oh, hello, dear boy," she greeted when she saw Jack. "I wasn't expecting visitors in this part of the woods." Jack was lost for words for a moment at the sudden address.

"Uh…well…umm…I…I was just…" he stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence. "I was…on a walk…lost track of time," he lied. "Didn't realise I'd gotten so far in - I didn't know anyone lived out here," he added. The woman leant against the doorframe and laughed gently.

"Yes, well, I can't say I'm much of a people person," she chuckled. "I tend to keep myself to myself…well, me, the cat and the dog," she added with a smile as a large dog - possibly a labrador - and a black cat appeared by her ankles. They seemed to eye Jack curiously as he lowered his staff.

"Umm…yes," Jack replied awkwardly. Maybe he should get back to Mother Nature about this… "Well, I'm…sorry to have disturbed you, ma'am," he apologised. "But, I really should be heading home," he continued, gesturing over his shoulder. "My…my parents will be wondering where I've gotten to and all so…"

"Oh, no, I understand," the woman nodded. Despite her getup looking like old-fashioned-rural Russian, her accent suggested otherwise but Jack couldn't quite pinpoint it. "To be fair, if more children were as considerate as you, the world would be a far calmer place, I'd say."

"Uh…sure," Jack nodded, taking a few steps back. Each to their own, he supposed, although the world was more exciting with different personalities and who wasn't up for a tiny bit of rebellion every now and then?

"But, I must say, you did come at a rather opportune time, my dear," the woman continued. "I've just been having a bit of trouble with my weaving loom - it's a family craft, it would be a disaster if it were to break," she explained. Jack blinked a few times. "It won't be any trouble - I just need help realigning some of the pedals, if you wouldn't mind." Jack was wondering why she couldn't do it herself. "Oh, normally I would be able to fix things myself, of course - I'd live a lot closer to town if I couldn't," the woman continued. "But I'm working on something for my grandchild - getting it fixed would be a lot faster with two people."

"I don't…know much about looms…" Jack tried to excuse himself.

"Come now - five minutes, it won't take any longer," the woman promised. "Also, you look rather peaky, my dear!" she added with a tone of genuine concern to her voice. Jack flinched in surprise - okay, _just_ because he was pale that did _not_ mean he wasn't in good health! He was perfectly fine, thank you. "I've got some hot stew on the stove - at least come in and have a bowl…it would put me at ease."

She beckoned Jack up to the front door and somehow, Jack couldn't seem to stop his feet from walking up the steps to the porch and through the door, which creaked loudly as the woman closed it to keep the cold winter air out. Once inside, Jack cast a glance around the shack - it was homely enough, big enough for one person to live fairly comfortably with a stove, wood fire, a large single bed and a bath tub. There were shelves stacked with books, a few bottles here and there and there was a rather large pestle and mortar near the wood fire, where the cat and the dog had curled themselves up by. There was also a weaving loom, not unlike the one Jack had seen the village seamstress use back when he was a mortal human being.

"Yes, it's just the pedals on this thing," the woman repeated with a small sigh. "First time it's ever played up on me in the years I've had it." Jack examined it, all the time keeping his staff clasped in his hand, just in case.

"Passed down through the family?" he assumed.

"That's right, dear," the woman nodded. "Look, we'll get to that once you've had something to eat - does your mother not feed you?!"

"Uh…yeah," Jack replied, a little stunned at the question. "I'm just…"

"Either way, she'll thank me later," the woman tutted, dishing out a bowl of delicious smelling stew. It was rich and steaming, filled with meat and vegetables…Jack couldn't remember smelling something so good. The woman sat him down at the small table and gave him the bowl, along with a spoon. "Eat up, now - I can't stand it if anyone doesn't have enough to eat! Why…if anyone came by this house I would always give them a bowl of something." Jack tasted the stew - it was as delicious as it smelled.

"Well…if this is what you give people…" he noted. "They must be very grateful." The woman smiled as she examined her loom.

"You're too kind, my dear," she replied. "Oh, I didn't catch your name," she requested.

"Jack," Jack replied without hesitation, not realising that he'd dropped his staff.

"It's a pleasure, Jack - like I said, I don't get visitors often," the woman replied. Jack sat in silence as he finished his stew - the woman waited patiently before he finished the meal. "Right - now, would you mind giving me a hand with this?"

Jack walked over and looked at the loom - as he'd said, he was no expert so he wouldn't be able to tell if something was wrong with it. He relied on the woman to tell him what was wrong and followed her instructions as he began helping out. At one point, she asked him to lift the machine up slightly as she detangled some threads.

 _Don't be deceived by appearances, Jack._

Jack started when he heard a niggling voice in the back of his head...he knew that voice, but who was it? He suddenly realised how foggy his brain had become. He'd been so cautious upon finding this house but now he was willingly doing what this total stranger asked him to do. True, the woman didn't seem a threat, but there was something about her manner that began bugging Jack. The way he'd entered the house without further question when she'd physically beckoned him in…the way he'd relaxed to the point of dropping his staff once she'd given him food…

He was letting his guard down.

 _Break the illusion._

His head still slightly foggy, Jack took another glance around the one-roomed shack. At first glance, everything looked as normal as a strange-lady-living-alone-in-the-wood's house could be. Taking another look, Jack blinked a few times and stiffened when he saw the spines of the books, reading gruesome titles as well as some in a language that he could not read:

The language of Blacke Magike.

The woman didn't appear to notice Jack's change in mood and gave him the go-ahead to put the loom back down. As he did, Jack took the opportunity to check the pestle and mortar which had been bothering him for a while. There was something in the back of his head that told him that he knew who used them…and that he was in serious danger.

"Grandma Chickenlegs…" Jack whispered, just quiet enough for the woman not to hear him. That was the name he knew the infamous witch for as a child, but in the supernatural spirit realm, he'd come to know her real name:

Baba Yaga.

As the woman was preoccupied double-checking the loom, Jack gazed into the mortar and gasped audibly as he saw what was floating inside it.

A liquid with a cloudy quality but a glass-like sheen over the surface. Flittering in and out of focus were four faces, just like how the faces had appeared on the floor of the Tooth Palace all those months ago. Except this time, Jack recognised them immediately.

Hiccup.

Merida.

Rapunzel.

* * *

Hiccup sat in his bed reading the latest book in his favourite fantasy series. The series had been going for years and there had even been a TV show started about it but Hiccup always found himself going back to the books - said TV show had started to deviate from the original book plot-line which irked him slightly (hey, he still enjoyed the show - the special effects were pretty darn good, especially on the dragons. Hiccup had a thing for dragons). Normally, Hiccup would be completely entranced in the world within the books. Tonight, however, he was struggling. Hiccup found himself reading the same page over and over again because he couldn't concentrate. His conversation with his father just kept playing through his mind as if on a loop.

"Come on, snap out of it, Haddock!" Hiccup snapped, whacking himself on the head with the book a couple of times. His attention was then caught by a strange smell wafting in through the door. "Hey, Gobber?" he yelled. "Gobber, I think you left the stove on!"

There came no answer - of course, Gobber was out having a chat with Stoick. Sighing and pushing himself off his bed, wincing slightly as he put weight on his left leg (Hiccup had trained himself to hide the pain whilst dancing but he avoided putting too much weight on it just in case - his secret ballet routine was the only time he did so and it was more him trying to get used to the pain…regardless of how it appeared on the outside, it still hurt), Hiccup headed out of his room and began walking downstairs to the kitchen to turn the stove off. The soup shouldn't be too bad - probably just burnt at the bottom of the pan but otherwise edible.

Hiccup began to grow concerned, however, when he saw smoke downstairs - why hadn't the smoke alarm gone off? Checking the ceiling in the hallway, Hiccup's eyes flew open when he saw the alarm hanging by its wires - the main ones cut, leaving it useless. Panicked, Hiccup ran to the front door and rattled the handle, throwing his weight against the door itself…it wouldn't budge.

"Keys…keys, keys, keys! Where are the ruddy keys?!" Hiccup muttered to himself, trying not to breath in too much of the smoke. No matter where he searched, he couldn't find any. Giving up with the front door, Hiccup ran for the living room to smash a window…

…only to see that every room downstairs was engulfed in flames.

* * *

Merida stuffed her headphones into her ears and began playing her favourite playlist, improvising a dance routine to each track that played. Each dance was angry…aggressive…hateful. After such an amazing night…her mother had _no_ right to blow up at her like that! Merida was fed up with the way her mother insisted on running nearly every aspect of her life.

"What…gives…her…the…right?!" Merida snapped, accentuating each syllable with a dance move, having found a decent clearing to practise in. Honestly, this was her life - should she be the one to decide what she would do with it? Maybe she should move out of the house completely? Camp out at one of her friend's house…at least for a while. It would get Merida out of her mother's hair, and Elinor out of her daughter's.

Merida was starting to like the thought of leaving the house. At least she and her mother wouldn't constantly be getting down each other's throats all the time. Perhaps it would be better for both of them if she did…it wasn't as if she was moving towns altogether - they could still see each other and try to patch things up between the pair of them.

The final song in Merida's playlist finished so she took out her headphones and slumped against a tree, catching her breath after the extended dance session. After that evening, Merida felt like she'd needed that in order to cool off. Tucking her phone and headphones into her pockets, Merida shivered slightly and regretted not bringing a jacket with her - okay, as a Scot she was fairly used to the cold but she couldn't help shivering from time to time. It was odd, in her opinion.

Something else suddenly caught Merida's attention - something in the brush. A rustling…one that was eerily familiar and that sent chills going up Merida's spine, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Standing up slowly, Merida turned around and squinted into the darkness, the four scars on her back suddenly flaring with a long-forgotten pain.

The soft sound of paws padding against the ground accompanied two bright yellow eyes peeping through the shadows. Merida froze in terror, her breath caught in her throat as she struggled to scream.

"B…b…b..BEAR!"

* * *

Rapunzel shivered as she finished answering the last of her text messages, which was odd considering that the double-glazed windows were closed and the heating was on to a comfortable temperature considering it was getting close to Christmas. Rapunzel frowned - she didn't feel cold in the slightest and yet when she checked her arm, it was covered in goosebumps.

"Goodness, I hope I'm not coming down with the chills or something," she mumbled, rubbing her arm slightly and digging out her phone charger - the battery was getting below ten per cent and she wanted to make sure it was charged up for the next day. As she dug the charger out of her bedside drawer, Rapunzel's frown deepened when she saw a small pile of black feathers - she picked one up to investigate. At a guess, she would have said that they were chicken feathers, although she'd never seen any of this deep shade of black before. Normally, black chickens had a tint of green to their feathers…they were never this dark.

"Rapunzel! Soup's nearly ready!" Gothel called from the kitchen, her voice slightly muffled by the door that had closed unexpectedly a few minutes earlier.

"Oh!" Rapunzel exclaimed, plugging the charger into the wall and slipping the end of it into her phone. "C…coming, Mother!" she called back in reply, heading towards her door when a gust of cold air blasted her in the back. Spinning around, Rapunzel yelped with surprise when she saw one of her windows wide open, blown against the wall.

Not wanting any of the hot air to leave her room, Rapunzel clambered back onto her bed to pull the window closed again, batting the flapping curtain away from her face and struggling to push the window closed again…

That was when a soft rustling sounded behind her - the sound of feathers being blown together in a strong wind. Turning around, Rapunzel shrieked as the black feathers she'd seen seemed to collect together in one large mass, forming a silhouette.

The silhouette of Gothel Towers.

* * *

Jack knew he had to make his move quickly. He had no time to thank the woman and politely take his leave - the likelihood was that, if she was who Jack suspected her to be, she wouldn't let him.

Spying his staff of the ground, Jack struck. Slamming his hand against the mortar to freeze whatever liquid was inside and sending a snowball at a shelf of potions and poisons (what? He was guessing here) as a distraction, Jack leapt for his staff as the woman yelped in surprise. Feeling his full power surge through his as he grabbed his conduit, Jack struck out with a sparking frost attack, sending the woman…the Baba Yaga…flying.

"ARGH!" she grunted as she slammed against the loom, sending it cluttering to the ground. Jack wouldn't be surprised if she didn't even use it. As she was dazed, he made a break for the door. He had to get to Mother Nature…he had to get to his friends…before it was too late…

"Not so fast!" a shrill shout sounded, just as Jack left the house and jumped into the air. As he tried to fly, the branches of the trees surrounding the house seemed to move, wrapping themselves around his wrists and ankles and trapping him in place. The Baba Yaga…so unlike how Jack had envisioned her whenever his mother had told the fairy tale as a child…stepped outside with her cat and dog at her ankles.

"Is that really how you treat your hosts, Jack Frost?" she snarled darkly. Jack struggled against the branches, the wind picking up in an attempt to help him but the branches' grip only tightened, moving up his arms and legs and around his neck, trying to prise his staff out of his grip. "Yes, I know who you are," the Baba Yaga continued, seeing the shocked look in the Guardian's ice-blue eyes. "And I know who you used to be…you and that brat sister of yours slipped right out of my grasp just like the others."

Jack's mind flashed back to his last day as a mortal human being…the last day his sister saw him alive. He could remember the ice…which he'd thought to have been thick enough…cracking under their feet…he remembered getting his sister to safety just before the ice broke apart underneath him, claiming him in Emma's place.

He remembered the stories that Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel had told him, Astrid and Eugene during the mid-term break. Their close encounters with death: Hiccup narrowly avoiding being burned to death in a freak car accident; Merida's encounter with the bear that shouldn't have been in the forest; Rapunzel being stolen from her birth parents and left to die in the streets and a baby…

 _That had been her?_

"You know, spirits aren't usually on my menu," the Baba Yaga (Jack couldn't call her Grandma Chickenlegs…she looked too young…) snarled. "But I won't be letting my meals slip away again."

"No…" Jack grunted, still struggling against the branches as he felt his staff being prised from his grasp. Desperation began growing as he continued to struggle and he himself began glowing a brilliant ice blue.

* * *

Hiccup ran back upstairs, sweat dripping down his forehead and his neck as he scrambled to find a way of escape. He'd tried the landline to call nine-one-one but the phone line had either been cut or destroyed by the fire. Why no one had called for help already was beyond him - maybe a neighbour had already called the fire department and help was on its way? Hiccup clung to that hope as he tried to find a window to open or smash.

"HELP!" he screeched, racing through the house which was having the floor burnt through from downstairs, cutting off Hiccup's routes into the other bedrooms aside from his own. Flames were now licking the walls and carpets…how had it spread so fast without anyone noticing?! Hiccup ploughed into his room, spluttering against the toxic fumes and hammering his window with every ounce of strength he had.

"HELP! SOMEBODY GET HELP!" he yelled, begging with every scrap of his being. Flashbacks of flames seared his mind…the flames of two years ago…the fire that had claimed his mother…it was almost exactly the same…

Except this time no one was bailing him out.

* * *

Merida began pelting through the forest back towards Burgess with the bear that had come across her in the clearing snapping at her heels. The slippery ground made running no easier for the redhead and in her panic, she kept tripping and stumbling over tree roots.

"Oh, dear Lord, help me…!" Merida pleaded as she shot a glance over her shoulder. What she wouldn't give to have her bow and arrows on her…she would at least have a better chance. For now, all she could do was run and bears were famous for their speed - this one was slow, by bear standards.

What was a bear even doing in the forest outside Burgess, anyway?! They were exactly common in this area of the country, outside zoos, that is…Merida was horrified to have found one in a place where it shouldn't be.

She just had to get back to town…she didn't know if she could outrun the beast for that long. She was already out of breath from her dance session and she couldn't remember how far from the village she'd actually walked. But she had to try - it was either that or allow this bear to finish what the other had started when she was but five years old…and she'd been lucky to survive that encounter.

Merida shrieked as a misplaced step sent her tumbling over a tree root and crashing face first to the ground. Not daring to look back, Merida scrambled along the ground, desperately trying to keep going…she could see the town through the trees.

"HELP!" she screamed before crying out in pain as something landed on her leg, pinning it down so that she could no longer move.

* * *

Rapunzel grabbed the nearest thing she could to keep the frightening silhouette at bay - a frying pan. Yes, she had one in her room - had done as a self-protection precaution against burglars since forever. Her bright-green eyes were wide in terror as she swung desperately at the feathers…or whatever they were…they were a swarm…

"STAY BACK!" she yelled, her voice trembling in fear. "Get away!" The feathers broke apart and reformed every single time she swung…they kept coming.

"Rapunzel?" Gothel called in concern. "What's going on in there?"

"MOTHER! HELP ME!" Rapunzel screeched in reply, backed against the open window…

…when the feather-swarm-silhouette charged, sending Rapunzel recoiling backwards with a scream of terror and knocking her off balance…through the open window more than 35 feet off the ground.

* * *

Jack let out a gut-wrenching scream as he released all of the power he could, blinding the Baba Yaga momentarily and sending a cold chills through the forest, as well as frosting every single tree within a one-hundred-metre radius of the clearing. The trees' grip on him didn't loosen but he could feel himself pulling free of the trap…

When the light cleared, the body of a white-haired boy wearing a blue hoodie and brown trousers fell limp in the enchanted trees. 

* * *

Hiccup screeched in terror as his bedroom floor gave out beneath him. The last thing he saw before blacking out was an inferno, swallowing him up and searing him until he blacked out from the pain. 

* * *

Merida let out a scream rivalling that of a banshee as she was flipped over in her struggle to escape. All she could see before everything blacked out was a set of razor sharp teeth getting closer and closer to her face. 

* * *

Rapunzel's shrieks could have been heard across Burgess as she fell, the black feathers swarming around her like insects. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, and Rapunzel was half sure that she saw a golden glow peeking into the corners of her eyes just before she hit the ground.


	19. In Which Rapunzel is actually Rapunzel

_**In Which Jack can't Talk and Rapunzel is... actually Rapunzel**_

"AH!" Hiccup yelped as he bolted upright. Amazingly enough, his head didn't hurt and his vision was far from fuzzy as he would have expected them to be. Taking in his surroundings quickly, Hiccup frowned when he saw that he was outside on the street, sprawled out on the remarkably dry pavement although there were patches of snow everywhere. That was odd…Hiccup could have sworn that he was trapped inside his own house whilst it was burning to the ground. How had he ended up outside?

And on top of that, why was he unharmed?

"Did I just slip on something?" Hiccup wondered aloud, wondering if he'd slipped on a patch of ice and had been knocked unconscious briefly…and that the whole fire had been a dream…but why was his head not hurting if that was the case?

The theory was further disproved when Hiccup looked upwards to see his house engulfed in an inferno, surrounded by screaming neighbours and what looked like the whole of the Burgess fire department. For a moment, Hiccup could only sit there, horrified at the sight that greeted him. Hadn't he been in the middle of that? What was he doing out here?

"HICCUP!" a bellowing voice roared over the sounds of firefighters battling the blaze and cries of horror. Hiccup shook his head in amazement - was that…his dad? Using his nickname? "SON!"

"Dad!" Hiccup cried, scrambling upright and running over. He limped slightly for the first couple of steps, not using to running starts, but he made his way over to the crowd as quickly as possible. The thing is, everyone was so tightly packed together he couldn't make his way through. "Dad! Hey! DAD! I'm over here!" Hiccup yelled, his six-foot-frame towering over a lot of people at the back but for some reason his father wouldn't turn around.

Maybe it was just the crowds being too noisy. Hiccup didn't exactly have the loudest of voices except when he was angry - which he wasn't right now, let's be honest.

"Oh, my god!" a horrified exclamation sounded just behind Hiccup. He spun around to see Astrid and her parents just joining the scene - Astrid looked as if she'd just been getting ready for bed and was already in her pyjamas and dressing gown. She began running towards the crowd - towards Hiccup.

"Astrid!" Hiccup cried in relief. "It's okay - I got out. I"m fi…"

"Mr Haddock!" Astrid screamed as she ran through the crowds, pushing people out of the way…

…but not until after she'd passed straight through Hiccup.

"Ah!" Hiccup gasped in horror as Astrid walked straight through him…just as if he were a ghost. The same thing happened when Astrid's parents rushed after their daughter - they walked through Hiccup as if he wasn't there, his body shimmering with a pale blue outline as they walked through him.

Hiccup's forest-green eyes went wider than coins in terror as he patted himself down, as if to check he was solid. To him, he was. This…this couldn't be happening…

"No…no, what's…?" Hiccup mumbled. In an attempt to convince himself that he was solid, Hiccup ran once again for the crowd, closing his eyes. If he was solid, he should collide straight into them.

He didn't.

When Hiccup next opened his eyes, he was standing right in front of the house, now burnt to a mere shell of what it had once been. The crowd still didn't appear to notice that he was there…neither did his father. Both Stoick and Astrid were screaming obscenities into the nether as the firemen emerged from the scorched buildings. Hiccup ran over to look, although he was terrified at what he might see…

It was him.

"No…" Hiccup gasped, clasping a hand to his mouth.

There was no mistaking it…that was his body. Badly scorched, yes, and very close to being unrecognisable…but that was him. Shaking his head in disbelief, Hiccup staggered backwards and once again closed his eyes before running. Once again, he ran as if his path was completely clear. He only stopped when he collided with a lamppost. Okay…so he was a ghost to people but to inanimate objects he was still solid…right, because _that_ made a lot of sense.

"God, Haddock…pull yourself together," Hiccup muttered, rubbing his head which only _now_ started hurting because of the collision with the lamppost. "Wake up…wake up…wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Hiccup?!"

Hiccup nearly banged into the lamppost _again_ when he heard the shout. He knew that accent anywhere.

"Merida?" he called, shaking his head clear and shooting he gaze around before spotting someone running from the direction of the forest. It was Miss Firecracker herself alright. "Merida!" he yelled, running over and nearly staggering when Merida crashed into him, flinging her arms around his neck. "GAK! Merida! Can't…breathe…!"

"Thank God…you can see me…" Merida muttered, almost crying into Hiccup's shoulder. At that, Hiccup's eyes flew open, looking as if they were taking up half of his face, as he grabbed Merida's shoulders.

"You too?!" he spluttered.

"What? They cannae see you as well?!" Merida exclaimed in horror. Hiccup shook his head. "What happened?"

"That," Hiccup replied, glancing over his shoulder back at his burning house. "It spread so quickly…I don't know how it happened…" Merida stifled a cry of terror before Hiccup asked her the same question.

"You're never gonna believe this but I got attacked by a bear of all things," she explained, her normally confident voice wavering in terror. "I know! There shouldn't be bears out here!" she cut across, seeing Hiccup about to interrupt. "But there was one. I fell over…I saw it's teeth and then…I just woke up outside the forest to see this massive crowd…people were pulling the bear away…someone shot it or something, I donnae know…but then…"

"They also brought you out of the forest," Hiccup realised. He explained that a similar thing and happened to him. "And they can't see or hear you…"

"They walked straight through me!" Merida shouted. Hiccup nodded in understanding, trying and failing to remain calm. He was shaking every bit as much as Merida was, as well as on the verge of hyperventilating. "You donnae think this means…"

"I don't know," Hiccup answered Merida's unfinished question. "If we are…" He didn't want to say 'ghosts'. "Then the whole phasing thing's a little weird. I crashed right into that lamppost and now my head hurts even more than it did."

"You mean to say that we're not completely intangible?" Merida quizzed.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Hiccup grumbled, rubbing his head where he was fairly sure a bruise was starting to form. "To people - yes. To inanimate objects - no."

"Oh, because _that's_ logical," Merida huffed. Hiccup mumbled that he'd thought the exact same thing. "So what are we, then? If we're not…you know…"

"I know what you mean," Hiccup sighed. "I've been thinking about that as well…I don't know…"

"What if it's some kind of…I donnae know…out of body experience or something?" Merida guessed. "I mean…I just got attacked by a bear and you were stuck in a burning house…I cannae think… _those_ us'es…"

"Because _that's_ grammatically correct."

"Shut up. I cannae think that _those versions of us…_ "

"Better."

"Zip it! …can be in the best of shapes," Merida huffed. Hiccup shrugged - it wasn't a bad theory, although he still couldn't quite believe that they were…for a want of a better way of describing their situation…half-dead. He didn't _want_ to believe it, that was more to the point.

"Whatever's going on, let's just stick together for now," he suggested. "There's got to be someone around here that can help…a…spirit medium, or something."

"Eh…I'm kinda dubious about them but it's worth a shot," Merida agreed, still breathing heavily in panic. "Wasnae there one advertised in the centre of town the other day?"

"Guess it won't do any harm to look," Hiccup nodded. "Let's get moving."

Making sure neither left the other's sight, Hiccup and Merida began heading towards the centre of town, hoping to find someone who would be able to hear them…see them… _help_ them. That was all they were asking for - help. Out of pure habit, they side-stepped people coming towards them but still shivered as the slightest part of someone's arm or a shopping bag they were holding passed through them, making them glow with a faint blue outline ever so briefly.

"We'd better find someone who can get us out of this mess and fast," Merida muttered.

"Slap me," Hiccup suddenly requested, making Merida stop dead in her tracks.

"What?" she frowned.

"Slap me - make me sure that I'm not dreaming here," Hiccup repeated. Merida, normally not one to miss an opportunity to whack some sense into someone, suddenly felt flustered and couldn't bring herself to slap her friend.

"We're in enough of a mess as it is! I cannae hit you!" she protested. "Not right now, anyway!" Hiccup groaned - okay, this called for drastic measures.

"Fine, you're a lousy shot anyway," he remarked cynically.

 _SMACK!_

"OW!" Hiccup yelped, reeling from the force of Merida's palm coming into direct contact with his cheek. "Okay…Astrid's got competition…"

"Satisfied?" Merida huffed, shaking her hand out and with a glare plastered on her face.

"Yep…" Hiccup nodded. "Not dreaming." Also, at least Merida herself was still there beneath the shivering wreck she and Hiccup were turning into.

"Merida? Hiccup?" a voice called timidly.

"D'ja hear something?" Merida frowned as Hiccup rubbed his smarting cheek. Hiccup nodded in reply - that sounded like…

"Wasn't that Rapunzel?" he quizzed.

"Sure sounded like her," Merida commented.

"MERIDA! HICCUP!" Rapunzel's voice shouted again. This time, Hiccup and Merida spun in the direction of the voice, relieved that someone could see and hear them…

Except the Rapunzel they say looked, shall we say, a little different.

Okay, 'little' might be an understatement. True enough, the girl was still wearing the clothes she'd worn once she'd changed out of her contest outfit, although she was missing her shoes, and her bright green eyes were as wide and terrified as Hiccup and Merida's were. But there was one, crucial, very _long_ difference about her appearance.

"What the heck 'appened to your hair?!" Merida spluttered when she saw her friend. For Rapunzel's head was no longer adorned with a short, brunette pixie crop. Trailing behind her was, at a guess, seventy feet of bright, shining golden hair.

"Don't know!" Rapunzel cried, her eyes bloodshot from crying. "You guys can see me?"

"Not you as well…" Hiccup groaned, placing his hands behind his head in shock. Rapunzel stifled a cry and quickly asked what had happened to them. "Me - burning house. Merida - bear attack. You?"

"Shoved out a window," Rapunzel replied quickly. "You're never going to believe me…"

"You've somehow got blonde hair that's reaching the end of the street," Merida pointed out. "Right now, I donnae know what to believe."

"There were feathers - black chicken feathers," Rapunzel explained. "They…they moved by themselves! They formed a shape that looked like Mother…I was so scared…the window was blown open…I couldn't close it…"

"Okay, okay, easy!" Hiccup tried to comfort the girl but telling anyone to calm down in this situation was fruitless and he knew it - he was on the verge of having a full-blown panic attack himself. "Right…none of us know what's going on so the best thing we can do right now is…" "Stick together, we've got it," Merida sighed.

"I'm all for that," Rapunzel said fearfully, tears still stinging her eyes. "I was so afraid I was alone."

"Guys?" a tiny voice piped up. Nearly jumping out of their skins, Hiccup and the girls spun around, shocked to see Emma standing at the street corner, her brown eyes wide with concern. "Hiccup? Merida?" Her gaze flitted to Rapunzel. "Uh…Rapunzel?" Okay, surely the hair didn't make _that_ much of a difference?

"Emma!" Rapunzel cried out in relief. "You…you can see us?" Emma nodded slowly, not even asking if no one else could. "Thank heavens!"

"Come with me!" Emma instructed urgently, beckoning for the trio to follow her. Willing to take whatever help they could get right now, Hiccup and the girls instantly followed, jogging over to keep up with the remarkably quick young girl. "For the love of…how did this happen so fast?!" Emma hissed to herself, her usually playful manner somewhat vanishing to be replaced with a more serious tone.

"Don't ask because we have no idea," Hiccup replied as they ran up to the Overland-Frost residence. "Everyone else in?"

"Mom is…Jack's not home yet," Emma replied, a nervous waver in her voice as she opened the door.

"I thought he went home with you," Rapunzel frowned. Emma winced.

"Uh…he and Emily-Jane went out to the forest…neither of them are back yet," she mumbled worriedly. "Come in!" she urged, rushing them to get inside. The trio obliged although it took Rapunzel a while to drag her new hairstyle through the door.

"How in the name of everything that is holy did my hair suddenly grow like this?!" she exclaimed irritably as she piled it into her arms - Hiccup and Merida helped out.

"That sure is a lot of hair," Merida remarked dryly.

"Understatement to end all understatements, Merida," Rapunzel grumbled back. Emma's mother suddenly ran through into the hall from the kitchen.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed when she saw the three teens. "Heavens…what happened to you three?!"

"We don't know," Hiccup answered truthfully. "We just…got into situations where we should be…" He still couldn't bring out the word - it kept getting caught in his throat. Merida continued for him, thank goodness.

"But somehow, _these_ versions of us are here, practically unharmed and unchanged from before with the exception of Actually-Rapunzel-Now here," she noted, ignoring a squeak of protest from Rapunzel ("She's got a point…Blondie," Hiccup mumbled). "But there are _other_ versions of us…Rapunzel, did you see another you?" she asked nervously. Rapunzel nodded, shuddering horrifically as she did so.

"Yes…it was horrible…" she replied.

"Exactly - they're worse for wear," Merida finished. "And now nobody except you guys can see _us_ and we've no flippin' clue as to what the heck's going on and how to fix it!" Emma and her mother looked horrified and could only shoot worried glances at each other.

"Emma," Mrs Overland finally said after a nervous pause. "Call Emily-Jane. Now."

"Yes," Emma nodded, rushing to the front door.

"What's Emily-Jane got to do with all of this?" Hiccup quizzed. Emma's mother ushered them into the kitchen.

"Listen, what you're going to find out in the next hour or so may be difficult to believe but you must listen tot everything we're about to tell you, alright?" she explained. The trio glanced at each other and nodded slowly and reluctantly. "If, at any point, you feel like you need to sit down, feel free to do so."

Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel sat down immediately, with Rapunzel tucking as much of her now insanely long hair under the table out of the way. Mrs Overland didn't blame them.

"The first thing you all need to know is that Emma, Jack, Emily-Jane and I are not technically of the mortal realm," the woman began. Rapunzel spluttered.

"Wait, you're what?! You're…ghosts?!" she stammered.

"More accurately, spirits given mortal forms," Emma's mother corrected.

"Wait, you're saying Jack... _our_ Jack…is a spirit?" Merida double-checked.

"Jack's a little different - in our realm, he is what is known as a Guardian," Emma's mother explained. "A Guardian of Childhood, to be precise…though he's the youngest of the bunch. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Jack Frost."

"As in the Winter Spirit?" Hiccup quizzed. "You're saying that's him?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"You're joking, right?" Merida questioned, her face pulled into a questioning frown. "Jack's a lot of things but he is _not_ a spirit. If he was, what the heck is he doing attending Moonstone?"

"He was supposed to be protecting you three," a soft voice huffed from behind them. The trio nearly jumped out of their seats in surprise and Rapunzel actually _did_ fall out of her chair when they saw who had spoken.

It was a tall, slim woman with hair of varying shades of brown, green, reds and golds. Her dress was one that could hardly be described in terms of colour or material and she had garlands of vines and flowers adorning her outfit.

"Mother Nature," Emma's mother greeted solemnly. If Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel had been drinking something, there would have been liquid spraying everywhere. "Where's Jack?"

"Stars only know where your son's gone!" Mother Nature…the woman the trio had known as Jack's aunt, Emily-Jane…half-shouted. "What in the name of Tsar Lunar happened to these three?!" she snapped.

"Uh…" the three stammered in response.

"Someone struck," Emma's mother replied. "By the looks of it, everything that happened to them happened at the same time."

"What. Happened?" Mother Nature asked again, this time more forcefully and looking at the poor teens.

"Fire…" Hiccup mumbled.

"Bear…" Merida whispered.

"Window…" Rapunzel muttered.

"Hmph," Mother Nature tutted, thankfully not pressing for more details on the events that had led to the three being stuck in the realm of spirits. "It's worrying…"

"No, duh," Hiccup remarked as dryly as he could, trying to keep himself from having a breakdown. Mother Nature coughed, as did Emma (who'd re-entered the kitchen) and her mother, but he ignored it. "So, you guys are…spirits? But if we're now what you are, how is it that we were able to see you but now no one can see us?"

"Mother Nature here allowed that," Emma explained. "Mom, Jack and I are really from the eighteenth century."

"You're telling us that you're over three hundred years old?!" Rapunzel squeaked.

"Technically, only Jack is but that's beside the point," Emma shrugged. She was pressed. "Well, Mom and I are spirits but we haven't had a physical form until recently - we were here to help Jack with the mission he was given."

"And that mission was…?" Merida pressed.

"I thought I explained that it was to protect you three," Mother Nature huffed.

"Yeah, but you didnae explain what 'e was supposed to be protecting us from!" Merida pointed out. "You're not exactly doing a fine job of explaining things!"

"We're not sure who it is who was after you!" Mother Nature snapped but the now insistent glares on the teens faces didn't waver.

"Who's 'we' anyway?" Rapunzel asked.

"Myself, the Guardians, the Man in the Moon and Pitch Black," Mother Nature replied shortly.

"And they are…?"

"The Guardians of Childhood consist of special spirits chosen by the Man in the Moon to protect the children of the world," Emma explained. "The Man in the Moon's kind of the rule of one of the spirit realms."

"There are multiple?" Hiccup frowned.

"The Realm of Moonlight and the Realm of Shadows," Mother Nature explained. "Tsar Lunar XVI rules over the Moonlight. Pitch Black is the King of Nightmares and rules over the Shadows. You may know him as the Boogeyman."

"I thought he was just a fairy tale," Rapunzel blinked in surprise. "Mother told me he was just a bad dream…"

"Well, that's what got him riled a while back," Mother Nature sighed. "He overstepped his realm - it took the Guardians to get things back under control…it was with Jack's help that they managed."

"The other Guardians include Nicholas St. North, Queen Toothiana and E. Aster Bunnymund…just known as Bunny," Emma's mother continued the explanation. "You'll known them as Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny."

"But they're all children's tales!" Merida protested.

"They thrive on the belief of children," Mother Nature explained. "So long as a single child believes, they can exist. Jack was in a rough situation when he first became a spirit - few people, even children, believed in him. He spent three centuries without anyone being able to see him."

"WHAT!?" Hiccup spluttered.

"That's awful!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "Suddenly I feel bad for complaining about our situation…" she added in an undertone.

"You have every right to complain," Emma reassured. "I would."

"So…you were saying Jack was sent to protect us from something?" Hiccup pressed quietly.

"Tsar Lunar sensed a disturbance in the Shadows during the summer," Mother Nature explained. "Normally, such a disturbance would be tackled by Pitch Black but his Nightmares grew out of control after what happened two Easters ago. In addition, he could not pinpoint the source of the disturbance - something has broken out of the Shadows but cannot dwell in the Moonlight…"

"And…that's…bad, I'm assuming'?" Merida guessed.

"It was troubling then, but now it appears more serious than we thought," Mother Nature nodded. "Tsar Lunar sensed that this force would target three mortal children…"

"Us?" Hiccup deduced uncertainly. Mother Nature nodded. "But why? We've got nothing to do with these…realms of Moonlight and Shadows or…whatever. What in the name of everything holy have we done to be targeted by your kind?!"

Mother Nature paused before answering. There was no point in being vague - the best thing to do now would be frank. She already knew the dangers of beating around the metaphorical bush - she'd seen the good it had done Jack - so she cut straight to the point.

"It's not so much what you've done but who you are," she explained.

"That...makes no sense," Rapunzel frowned.

"I'm not finished," Mother Nature cut across curtly. "You know that Jack is the Winter Spirit. In effect, he is one of my Aides."

"Sure doesn't seem that way," Rapunzel pointed out.

"Well, he himself didn't know until a few months ago," Emma shrugged. Hiccup made a muttered comment that spirits were horrible at explaining things, even to each other. It was unclear as to whether Mother Nature had heard him but if she had, she chose to ignore him.

"There are three other Season Spirits besides him," she continued. "Together, they form the Guardians of the Earth." Merida put two and two together.

"Wait, you're sayin' that _we're_ these Guardians?!" she spluttered, gripping onto her chair and the table to make sure she didn't fall over. Mother Nature sighed and replied that was exactly what she was saying. "That is quite possibly the most ridiculous thing I've ever 'eard!" Merida exclaimed in protest.

"I'm agreeing with Merida," Hiccup nodded.

"Seconding that," Rapunzel added. Mother Nature sighed and pinched her eyebrows together.

"I know it seems convoluted but…" she began when the windows suddenly rattled, causing everybody to scream in fright. Mother Nature regained her composure the quickest and headed straight for the front door, angrily muttering something about how it 'had better be Jack otherwise somewhere, she was going to set off an earthquake'.

"Would she actually…?" Rapunzel whispered to Emma, nearly tripping over her own hair (seriously, the stuff was more than mildly ridiculous).

"Oh, she would," Emma nodded nervously. "We've seen her."

The wind suddenly picked up inside the house, billowing through the curtains and sending a nearby vase falling off the cabinet ("THAT WAS MY MOTHER'S!" Mrs Overland cried). Again, the teens shrieked in shock but began cowering behind the nearest object when Mother Nature flew into the kitchen, eyes blazing as a wispy figure began shooting around the room frantically.

"WHAT THE BLAZES IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Mother Nature bellowed. Everyone else hid behind something - this woman was legitimately terrifying. Emma was thankful that she was a neutral spirit when it came to nearly every other affair - she would hate to be on the opposing side to this woman. "THREE HUNDRED YEARS AND YOU SUDDENLY SHOW UP OUT OF NOWHERE CLAIMING YOU'RE THE ONE SEASON SPIRIT I HAD A TAG ON?!"

Daring a peek out into the action, the trio of teens caught a glimpse of a silhouette, except this one was of light, not of shadow. It was pale in appearance, a mix of pale blue and a creamy white…the colour of the moon. If you squinted, you could just about make out the appearance of a boy, not much older than mid-teens, with flyaway hair that seemed to be mostly swept forwards. He was incredibly skinny and seemed to be dressed in light armour - in his hand, he carried what looked like a staff, although it was even fainter than he was.

The boy was moving around quickly, making exaggerated gestures - his mouth looked like it was moving but no sound came out. Mother Nature seemed to understand what he was saying.

"What do you mean 'Why do you keep calling me Nightlight"?!" she snapped. "That's who you are, you twit! Or did your memory take a knock again?"

The boy punched the air in frustration as Hiccup slowly gathered the courage to emerge from his hiding place. Squinting more closely, he caught the shape of the boy's face…and could just about catch the ice-blue colour that made up his irises.

"Jack?"

* * *

 **For a start, let me apologise for missing so many updates. I'll try to get back into a regular update schedule with this thing, especially seeing as it is so long. I literally have no excuse other than 'Life'.**

 **Second, this website _really_ doesn't like me trying to upload chapters longer than 3.5 thousand words long. Which will be a problem with this story because most of the chapters are longer than that. If there are any further issues with me missing updates, that may be one of the reasons (I swear I never had this problem before).**


	20. Where to Begin?

_**Where to Begin?**_

"Jack?" Hiccup muttered in disbelief.

The boy whipped around and made a gesture as if to say _'_ _Thank you! At least_ someone _got it!'_ before doing a double take and somersaulting through the air in shock upon seeing Hiccup there.

"Wait…Jack?" Mother Nature blinked in surprise. The boy recovered and nodded before indicating Hiccup and the girls (who had just emerged) as if to ask what they were doing there. "You've got to be joking…"

"Wasn't Nightlight…?" Emma asked Mother Nature nervously.

"Tsar Lunar's Guardian…and Katherine's best friend," Mother Nature remembered. The boy…Jack…made a face - okay, clearly he didn't remember that. "But…he vanished…"

"Who's Katherine?" Merida asked quietly.

"You may know her as Mother Goose," Mrs Overland replied. "Another Guardian - just not one of the main team." The teens could only stare at the wispy figure that Jack had become. Even Mother Nature had been stunned into silence.

"All that time…Nightlight was Jokul Frosti," she murmured, unable to fully grasp what was going on herself. "How…?" Jack looked as if he was getting increasingly frustrated, especially with the fact that he couldn't seem to talk, and crossed his arms, pouting in irritation. Meanwhile, the three teens were emerging from their hiding places.

"First off… YOU'RE A SPIRIT?!" Merida suddenly shrieked at the translucent Jack, sending him flying backwards into the window in shock. "AND YOU _COMPLETELY_ NEGLECTED TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH US?!"

Jack made a few wild gestures with his arms with a frustrated glare replacing his shocked face.

"He says that you wouldn't have exactly believed him," Mother Nature muttered.

"Doesnae matter if we'd've believed ya!" Merida protested. "I thought we all agreed, 'no secrets'!"

Jack pouted angrily and pointed at Hiccup who's eyes narrowed.

"He says, 'Tell that to Hiccup'," Mother Nature translated. Hiccup's eyes flew wide open and his mouth began to open in protest when the girl turned on him.

"I…I have no idea what he's…" he stammered but Jack silently cut across him, pointing angrily at his left leg. "HOW DO YOU KNOW?!" Hiccup exclaimed without thinking.

"How does he know what?" Rapunzel mumbled nervously. Jack's eyes flew wide open in horror when he saw Rapunzel's new hairstyle - she shrugged in response. Grumbling, Hiccup shifted his position and pulled his left trouser leg up, revealing a metal foot. "Huh?!"

"You're an amputee?!" Merida cried in shock.

"Yes! I'm missing a leg! By all accounts, I shouldn't be studying dance at Moonstone!" Hiccup shouted bitterly. "I lost it in the accident that took Mom! There! HAPPY?!" he yelled at Jack who looked sorrowfully apologetic.

"That was a fine time to blurt that one out, Jack," Mrs Overland reprimanded, although her face was still plastered with shock.

"Your mother's right, Ice-for-Brains," Mother Nature snapped. "Impeccable timing," she added sarcastically.

Jack made a few more gestures and shot a genuine apologetic glance at Hiccup who sagged, his brief spell of frustration spent.

"Whatever, it's not like it was gonna stay a secret for long," he sighed. "Not if they've taken us all to hospital…" he added, thinking back to his physical body. There had clearly been no left leg on that thing…even if he ever woke up, he might as well kiss his dancing career goodbye.

"So, wait, we've been turned into spirits…what the heck's 'appened to Jack?" Merida asked, thankfully changing the conversation topic. Jack shrugged, giving himself a once-over before he shot a demanding look at Mother Nature, indicating his friends.

"Someone struck without warning," Mother Nature huffed, somehow understanding (maybe she understood wind? The breeze in the room hadn't died down since Jack had entered). "Which was what _you_ were supposed to be prepared for!" she added snappishly. Jack sagged and made a few more gestures.

"Uh…what's he saying?" Emma asked. Mother Nature began translating.

"He called for me whilst in the forest…well, I sure as flip didn't get the message," she huffed. Jack made a few more gestures. "Hey! Do _not_ use that tone on me!" Mother Nature snapped.

To be fair, you didn't need to speak 'wind' to know what Jack had been saying there - Hiccup had made sure to cover Emma's eyes. Eventually, Jack calmed down enough to start explaining what had happened to him, with Mother Nature providing translations.

"There was a clearing…a house standing on four legs…chicken-legs?" she frowned. "Don't be…" she cut herself off. As she did, Jack crossed his arms with a look that said _'_ _I'm sure you can figure out the rest'_. "No…she couldn't be…"

"What?" Rapunzel pressed. Mother Nature bit her lip.

"We know who was targeting you three…rather targeting all four of you. By the looks of things, she caught Jack completely by surprise," she muttered (Jack sagged and rolled his eyes - ' _No, duh!_ ', he seemed to say). The teens pressed her. "A witch called the Baba Yaga - in fairytales she's often given the nickname 'Grandma Chickenlegs' due to her house standing on four of them," she explained.

"Mother used to tell me that story," Rapunzel remembered. "An old woman…iron teeth…has a cat and a dog…she eats people who come to her house," she recited. "She promises food in return for them looming for her throughout the night and when they fall asleep, she cooks them," she shuddered. Jack made some more gestures, his face etched with worry.

"Apparently this Baba Yaga was far from old - appears to be in her mid to late forties at a guess, apparently…although with spirits, age is irrelevant, she could have chosen a younger form to throw us off the scent," Mother Nature translated. "No iron teeth as far as Jack could see…cat and the dog were there."

"One out three's not bad, Rapunzel," Hiccup commented sarcastically. At that, Rapunzel revealed a frying pan from under her arm and whacked Hiccup sharply in the shoulder with it. "OW! Where'd that thing come from?!"

"He tried to escape the house to find me but got caught in the branches…really, idiot? That's a poor excuse if I ever saw one!" Mother Nature continued, ignoring Hiccup's outburst.

"The trees outside her house moved as well," Rapunzel remembered. "They could tear people to shreds…the Baba Yaga's got a lot of nature imagery tied to her in folktales."

"That might explain why you didn't get Jack's message," Mrs Overland commented. "The trees weren't answering to you - they were answering to her."

"That's ridiculous!" Mother Nature snapped.

"I think that, by this point, anything that seems ridiculous may also be true," Merida remarked. "I still donnae believe the whole Earth Guardian stuff, mi'self." Mother Nature sighed in resignation. The redhead had a point. Jack continued with his account, made up of gestures and lip-reading.

"The Baba Yaga said that she wasn't willing to let her meals escape again," Mother Nature translated. Jack cast a nervous glance at his friends who frowned back in confusion. "Apparently you've all had close brushes with death before."

"You're not telling us that this witch orchestrated them?" Hiccup shot incredulously.

"It would seem that way," Mother Nature grimaced. "Although why, I don't understand. There's no way she could have known your heritage…"

"What heritage is that? Our 'Guardian' status?" Merida asked with a dry glare.

"Exactly," Mother Nature replied. Merida groaned. She still wasn't buying it. "Even I don't known when the Season Spirits take on a mortal form…they never were brilliant at communicating with me…" she grumbled.

"Okay, let's say for a moment that, you're right," Hiccup suggested. "We are the human incarnations of these…Season Spirits or whatever. Why would the Baba Yaga, someone known for targeting people, be after them?"

"Who can say?" Mother Nature shook her head. She glanced pointedly at Jack who shrugged - the heck he knew. "But whatever her reasons, we underestimated her. And it's cost us…it's cost you," she said, looking at all four of the group. "For that, I am so sorry."

"You got tha' right," Merida huffed. "Now how are we supposed to get back to normal? Take this witch out? Always works that way in stories."

"Well, I'm going to take a hazard guess she's not going to go after your physical forms," Emma cut in, just above the sound of the television she'd just switched on. "What happened to you guys is all over the news - you've all been taken to hospital."

"And she wonnae go after us there, because…?" Merida raised an eyebrow.

"Well, she likes her meals fresh," Emma explained, darting a glance at her mother for confirmation.

"The chemicals they use at hospitals these days will put her off for sure," Mrs Overland added. "That'll buy us some time to find a way to get you back into your human forms, at the very least."

"But if she's after _us_ …" Rapunzel pointed out, indicating herself and her three friends. "That might not make a difference. Especially if Jack was already a spirit."

Jack nodded and made a few gestures - it wasn't exactly sign language but it seemed to be the next best equivalent.

"So you think she was after you as spirits from the start?" Mother Nature translated. Jack nodded. "Well, that brings us back to square one."

"The way I see things, taking the Baba Yaga out may actually give you the best chance of returning to normal," Mrs Overland suggested. "Her magic was no doubt the cause of your…accidents."

"Take out the caster…" Hiccup nodded in realisation.

"Take out the spell," Merida sighed. "Is tha' really how things work in your world?"

"More often than not, yes," Mother Nature nodded with a small shrug.

"But isn't there anything you can do?" Rapunzel asked. "I mean, you're Mother Nature! And these Guardians sound like they're rather powerful. Hiccup, Merida and I…" she trailed off, playing with a strand…or rope…of long, golden blonde hair. "…we're just…us."

"If only there was more we could do," Mother Nature sighed. "It is true that I am one of the most powerful spirits in the supernatural world, but I also have my Earth to take into consideration. If I use my power for anything other than its upkeep, the whole ecosystem of the planet may be thrown out of balance. It's not a risk that I can take - that's why I am a neutral spirit."

"Is that where your…Earth Guardians come into play?" Hiccup guessed.

"Precisely," Mother Nature replied. "As well as helping me guard the balance of the Seasons, they fight battles where I cannot."

"Then they're our best bet," Merida suggested. Everyone shot a pointed glance at her, including Jack in his wispy-supposedly-called-Nightlight form. "Which…means us, doesnae it?" she groaned.

"'fraid so, Merida," Mother Nature replied. "You may not believe it, but you have to accept it. By the looks of it, it's your best option to get back to normal."

Jack literally kicked up a storm again as he shot a glance at Mother Nature, who sighed in response.

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware we've got you to sort out as well," she noted. "Although I'm still confused as to you being Nightlight…" she added in an undertone. Jack threw his hands up in frustration. "Oh, don't give me that!"

"At least we found a way to shut 'im up," Merida muttered jokingly. Jack heard it and sent a wind in her direction that caused her face to become buried in her hair. "OI!"

From his hovering position just above the kitchen counter, Jack smirked as Hiccup shot him a half-disapproving look, although he couldn't stop himself from laughing softly. Still their Jack.

"I think it would be best for you all to see your heritages for yourselves," Mother Nature suggested. "I'll gather the rest of the Guardians in the meantime and inform them of what's happened." She paused. "Pitch should know as well."

Jack backflipped in surprise into the kitchen cabinet ("JACK!" his mother yelled) as he shot a shocked face at Mother Nature.

"He's involved in this as much as the rest of us, Jack," the spirit pointed out. "And the Baba Yaga originates from his realm. As such, she is his responsibility."

"So how do we go about…seeing our heritages?" Hiccup asked dryly. Mother Nature beckoned for them to follow her, asking Emma and Mrs Overland to keep an eye on things in town. As they nodded, their appearances changed to those resembling a mother and daughter from colonial times…so this was their true appearance. Jack hovered by his sister to wish her a silent good luck before following the others out.

Mother Nature guided the four towards the forest, this time taking a route that Jack at the very least knew well. It led to his lake, not far from Jamie's house. He must have reacted visibly because this time, Merida was the one to ask him something.

"This place mean somethin' to ya, Jack?" she asked. Jack glanced at his friends, his body leaving behind thin trails of foggy light as he moved and his face etched with sad nostalgia. He nodded slowly, glancing back at the lake.

"What happened here?" Hiccup asked. Jack made a few gestures, which Mother Nature watched except this time, the teen could understand.

Pointing to self: _Me_

Hand held about waist-height: Most likely _Emma_

Pointing to lake and making skating movements: _Ice skating on lake_

Hands splitting apart: _The ice broke_

Pointing to self: _I_

Pointing to lake: _Fell in there._

"No…" Rapunzel gasped. "You…you drowned?"

"It was after that Tsar Lunar chose him as a Guardian," Mother Nature explained. Jack nodded in confirmation. "Like you three…he has known death before." Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel shuddered as they realised that their friend, contrary to what he'd told them that day at Hiccup's, had indeed had a brush with death of his own…except he'd actually left this life. They could see why he'd neglected to tell them that information. It must have been awful.

"That's not the reason you brought us all here, though, is it?" Hiccup quizzed solemnly. Mother Nature shook her head.

"No, indeed," she confirmed. "This lake is something special," she explained. "To mortals, it is a pond like any other. To us…there's no official name for it but I like to call it a Seeing Lake," she continued, waving a gentle arm over the lake, causing it to shimmer. "Submerge, and what you see will depend on you."

"You mean you don't actually know what we'll see?" Rapunzel frowned. "Because that's not helpful."

"If I knew what you'd see, I'd tell you," Mother Nature huffed. "But this is a very personal magic. What a person sees isn't something that can be known to others."

"It's worth a go, I suppose," Merida shrugged.

"Five seconds ago, you didn't even believe we're who she says we are," Hiccup pointed out cynically.

"Doesnae mean that I do now, nimrod!" Merida snapped. "I'm just sayin' that we've got not other course of action for now."

"She's right," Rapunzel sighed, dragging her hair as close to her as possible (she'd had to hang back to untangle it from a few tree roots for a bit en route to the lake). "If this is the best way to get answers for now, it's the only option we've got."

Sharing a glance amongst themselves, Hiccup, Merida, Rapunzel and Jack headed over to the edge of the lake, frozen over in the mid-winter night. When Jack made contact with the ice, it shimmered bright blue. A bright green light joined this when Hiccup stepped onto the ice, followed by a fiery red glow as Merida placed a foot on the frozen surface and a bright pink came last as Rapunzel's bare foot made contact with the ice. The ice itself seemed to become warped, as if it were not quite solid and a pool of inky blackness filled with what looked like stars appeared in the centre.

"Uh…I guess that means something," Hiccup muttered. Jack nodded uncertainly, unable to say anything otherwise. "Well…let's take the plunge then…ow!" Hiccup winced as Jack slapped him round the head with his staff…actually, it looked more like a spear now that he had a closer look. But, seriously, you didn't mention 'taking the plunge' around a spirit who actually drowned in his past life...touchy subject.

Slowly, the four stepped onto the ice, which despite its now warped appearance was still solid. Gradually, they began to descend and although they never felt each other let go of the others' hands, they felt themselves drifting apart as if walking to separate destinations.

Mother Nature could only hope they found the answers they were searching for as they disappeared into the pool of stars.

* * *

 **We have a set of individual-based chapters coming up, so I'll probably upload those all at once on Wednesday seeing as they technically take place all at the same time. This will happen I think one more time after this, which is one of the reasons this story has so many chapters, but now we're getting to the main part of the plot (which I was so excited to get to when I was writing this thing!). Funnily enough, we're nearly halfway through this story.**

 **See you guys (hopefully) on Wednesday with the next update!**


	21. A Boy and His Dragon

_**A Boy and His Dragon:**_

"WHOA!" Hiccup yelped as he suddenly lost his footing. One second ago he'd been walking across that frozen lake in Burgess Forest with his four friends, two of whom as well as himself were now spirits having been caught in deadly 'accidents' which may not have been accidents but rather magically orchestrated by a supernatural witch of folklore, and the third now being a sort of wispy being seeing as he was _already_ a spirit…

Hiccup's head began hurting again.

But that was one second ago - one second, solid ice beneath his feet, even as an admittedly beautiful star-filled blackness surrounded him and he could no longer see his friends. The next, he's stepped into nothingness and tumbled head over heels for a second or two before…

 _THUD!_

"Ooff!" Hiccup grunted as his head narrowly missed what looked like a rock and his face became best friends with the ground. Wincing as he pushed himself back up again, at the same time making sure that he didn't have a nosebleed, Hiccup noticed that the ground itself was far different to the one he'd left back in Burgess. There was no concrete. No wet leaves or piles of snow, although the air around him was undoubtedly cold. No, this ground was dusty, like a hard soil common around rock formations, with small patches of hardy grass and moss. Standing up and shaking his head clear, Hiccup took in his surroundings.

"I'm…definitely not in Burgess anymore," he muttered to himself when he saw.

He was in a cove of some sorts, with high rocky walls surrounding a small lake on all sides (one lake to another…wow). The rock-walls had the occasional set of roots tumbling down them and Hiccup could see a forest encircling the cove above him. Wherever he was, it wasn't lacking in natural aesthetics, that was certain. But Hiccup couldn't shake something about this place…

Why did it feel so familiar?

 _Growl._

"Ah!" Hiccup exclaimed at the sound, jumping a foot into the air as he spun around. The sight that greeted him was both terrifying and mesmerising at the same time.

A great black creature, at least fifteen feet in length, stood before him, eyeing him down with two eyes of the brightest green that Hiccup had ever seen. When it moved, it revealed it's body shape - sleek and streamlined with a grace that reminded Hiccup of a panther. It's mouth was lined with pointed teeth - evidently a keen predator. But that wasn't the main thing that caught Hiccup's attention. No, Hiccup's attention was mostly focused on the fact that one: the creature was reptilian; and two: there were two distinct wings folded against it's back.

This creature was a dragon.

"Whoa…" Hiccup exhaled in amazement once he'd gotten over his initial shock at seeing a freaking dragon in front of him. "My day just got a whole lot weirder…" he muttered. The dragon grunted and went by its own business - when it turned its back, Hiccup spotted that it was missing a tail fin. He found himself wondering how that had happened, but at the same time he felt a wrenching in his chest and suddenly felt incredibly guilty. Why would he be feeling that way?

The dragon had clambered up onto a nearby boulder and Hiccup was about to follow to take a closer look when a noise made him jump again. This time, it came from the edge of the cove, from a small gap in the rocks. Hiccup couldn't see anyone around but there was a small fish lying on the ground.

"Uh…kay?" Hiccup frowned but he nearly cried out loud when he saw what followed the fish.

In the gap, hiding himself behind a shield, was a young boy - no older than fifteen. As he walked forward, the shield he was carrying got stuck in the gap between the rocks - after a few seconds of trying to dislodge it, he gave up and instead headed into the cove and picked the fish back up. Now that he was in full sight, Hiccup could see his full appearance.

The boy was wearing a woollen long-sleeved green tunic under a long, sleeveless fur coat, as well as dark green trousers and dark brown fur boots. It wasn't the getup that stunned Hiccup the most. The boy was small, not much taller than five-foot-three or four if Hiccup had to take a guess, and he was rather scrawny as well. His face was oval shaped and freckled, sporting a pair of forest green eyes under bangs of auburn brown that shimmered red in the sunset that was over the cove.

Hiccup had seen enough photos at home to recognise the boy as resembling his fifteen-year-old-self perfectly…pre-leg-loss, by the looks of things.

"He looks like…me…?" he whispered in disbelief.

"If you want to be technically correct, it's more that you two look like _me_ ," a soft voice sounded.

"AH!" Hiccup exclaimed for what felt like the billionth time in the space of ten minutes. Seriously…what was it about suddenly becoming a spirit and him getting so jumpy?

Spinning around, Hiccup was once again stunned into silence at what he saw. Just behind him was an apparition of a young man, garbed in reds and golds with hints of emerald green- the fabric wasn't quite silk or satin, more of a fine wool but something about it seemed mystical. His outfit comprised of what looked like leather riding armour, combined with metal shoulder and arm guards, as well as a cloak that billowed around his feet…well, right foot. Hiccup recoiled when he saw that this man also had a prosthetic left leg.

There was a look of wisdom and great knowledge about the man, but also the feel that this man had seen battle and knew how and when to fight. He looked to be in his early to mid twenties, with windswept hair that framed an angular face beset with two forest green eyes. Despite the five o'clock shadow beard that he was sporting, Hiccup could see the resemblance the man had to the fifteen-year-old boy in the cove behind him…the resemblance to himself.

"Are you…one of the Earth Guardians Mother Nature was talking about?" he asked quietly.

"In a sense," the man replied. He was nearly transparent - it was evident that he was even less of a part of the world than Hiccup was. "I'm the memory of Hosten Redleaf, Spirit of Autumn."

"What do you mean by 'memory'?" Hiccup asked.

"Whenever my fellows and I choose to live among humans for a single lifetime, we leave the memories of our spirit selves behind," Hosten explained. "This includes our true appearance…what you see before you here," he added, gesturing to himself. "And when we retake our spirit forms, we lose our human memories…for the most part."

"'Most part'?" Hiccup repeated.

"Some scraps of memory remain," Hosten replied. "It may be a voice or a like or dislike for something…they carry through our incarnations, spirit and human. We call these Constants." Hiccup took a moment to take the explanation in…so he was talking to someone that he was…in a past life? Hiccup had never given reincarnation much thought but this was too scary to just be a coincidence. "And, as much as I hate to say it, the leg is one as well," Hosten added with an apologetic grimace.

"But he's still got both his legs," Hiccup pointed out, pointing a thumb at the boy.

"For now," Hosten sighed. Hiccup decided he didn't want to know how or when the misfortune he'd suffered in terms of limbs would befall the boy behind him.

"So that kid…he's who I was?" he asked, glancing back at the young boy who, by now had come face to face with the dragon. The dragon itself was approaching cautiously - the boy had just kicked his knife into the lake nearby and was holding out the fish as if giving a peace offering.

"Long ago, yes," Hosten replied. "In fact, nearly a millennium. That boy's a Viking."

"You're kidding, right?" Hiccup huffed dryly. Squinting, he saw that the dragon's teeth had vanished.

"Huh…toothless…" the boy-that-was-apparently-Hiccup-from-Viking-times muttered.

"He sounds exactly like you as well," Hosten chuckled.

"I do _not_ sound like that!" Hiccup protested. The boy continued in the background.

"I could've sworn you had…AH!" he exclaimed as the dragon snatched the fish from his hands…oh, the teeth were retractable. "…teeth."

"Poor kid…" Hiccup grimaced. Hosten only nodded in response. Hiccup attention went to the dragon which was now advancing on the boy as if looking for more food. "Dragons actually exist? I'm guessing that kid's not a spirit."

"Right on both accounts," Hosten replied. "Dragons once lived among man…it used to be that they waged war on each other. This boy…" he pointed at the boy who'd now had half a fish regurgitated onto his lap ("That's…disgusting," Hiccup remarked). "…brought peace between his people and the dragons. Sadly it was also during his lifetime that dragons vanished."

"Where did they go?" Hiccup asked. "If they're real then how comes no one's ever found any trace of them?"

"I wish I could remember," Hosten answer sadly. "That dragon there…" He indicated the black dragon who had now growled at the boy once he'd tried to touch his nose. "…is my close companion. He's followed me through my lives…he's one of my Constants…but this is the first time I've seen him in a long time."

"This their first meeting?" Hiccup asked, indicating the boy who'd tried and failed to sneak up on the dragon who was trying to get some shuteye. "The dragon doesn't look like he trusts the kid that much."

"I wouldn't if someone shot me out of the sky," Hosten remarked. Hiccup winced - so that was the cause of the missing tail fin. "But he belongs to you now."

"I have a dragon…" Hiccup exhaled in amazement. He'd always loved dragons in general…he'd never imagined that he'd actually have one. As the evening drew on, the boy Hiccup was watching wet to sit by himself and began sketching something in the dirt whilst the dragon had a nap in a nearby tree.

"I trust myself to take care of him," Hosten chuckled. Hiccup took a deep breath - he guessed he had no choice but to accept that he was in fact the new Spirit of Autumn.

"So what's the whole Guardian of Earth thing entail anyway?" he questioned. "Besides the whole season thing."

"For you, the power over Fire," Hosten explained. "Hence Toothless," he added, indicating the dragon.

"You actually named him that?!"

"He liked it. And you need to make sure you don't anger a Night Fury - they get very picky."

"A dragon species that sounds as terrifying as 'Night Fury' and you name him 'Toothless'," Hiccup summed up dryly.

" _You_ named him."

"Like three lifetimes ago!"

Hosten laughed softly for a moment before continuing.

"Each Guardian has what is called a Centre - effectively it fuels our power," he explained. "We Earth Guardians are special in that we have two." Hiccup thought for a moment - the way Hosten had said 'Centre' made him think of the word with a capital 'C'.

"So Jack has a…Centre?" he quizzed.

"Fun is his Guardian of Childhood Centre," Hosten explained. "His Earth Guardian…or his Natural Centre is Rebirth." Hiccup nodded in understanding - by now he was done questioning things. He figured it would be better to just roll with it. "Yours Centres are Knowledge and Change. Bear in mind they are incredibly powerful."

"How do I control it?" Hiccup asked. "More to the point, how do I use it?" Hosten held his hand out, palm splayed downwards. Hiccup copied the action - it took all of his self-control not to recoil when he saw the hilt of a sword appearing in his hand. Instinctively, he closed his hand around it.

"We all carry what is known as a Conduit," Hosten explained. "This will help channel your power. Should you learn how to use your power without it, kudos to you."

"I don't get an actual lesson?" Hiccup asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.

"Jack didn't," Hosten pointed out. "The whole point is we learn anew every time we re-enter the Spirit Realms."

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that," Hiccup cut across. "If we're supposed to forget our old lives as we leave them, how is it that all of us can remember our human lives?"

"Jack regained his memories last year. Before then, he had no idea who he had been," Hosten replied. "You and your other two friends are half in this world - your mortal forms still live. As such, there is a chance for you to go back to the mortal realm."

"And we need to take out the Baba Yaga to do so," Hiccup nodded. "And to do that, we need to harness your… _our_ power as Season Spirits," he added, correcting himself quickly. Hosten nodded sadly.

"I wish there was more I could do to help," he sighed.

"Well, some of my questions have been answered," Hiccup shrugged. "It's better than none at all. At least you didn't beat around the bush."

"It's never a good method to use," Hosten smirked. "I wish you luck."

"Thanks…gonna need it," Hiccup replied as Hosten faded from view.

But Hiccup didn't find himself going back to Burgess. Not just yet. For a moment, he stood in silent contemplation, gazing at the the sword he now held in his hands. It's appearance was basic enough - a Viking design, by the looks of things (Hiccup had never been good with history, he was guessing here), just long and light enough for Hiccup to hold comfortably. However, as Hiccup examined it, the blade glowed gently and tiny flames flickered around the hilt and although they tickled Hiccup's hand, they didn't hurt.

Turning around to watch the scene unfolding between the boy and dragon behind him, Hiccup watched curiously as the dragon walked over to the boy, examining his drawing. The dragon's curious nature made Hiccup smile and he couldn't help but head over to look as well - the boy's drawing was a portrait of the dragon.

"Pretty good," Hiccup remarked from the ground, looking up at the boy who didn't see him. The dragon suddenly walked off, causing both the boy and Hiccup to look in confusion after him…both started when he grabbed a branch and began drawing his own lines in the dirt. Standing up, Hiccup gazed around the cove, following the dragon…Toothless…as he drew something. At one point, he glanced back at the boy and Hiccup - Hiccup knew the dragon could see him and averted eye contact briefly but Toothless kept drawing. After a time, he dropped the branch and stepped back to admire his work.

Examining the ground around him, Hiccup blinked in surprise - he could just about make out a face…was it the boy? Was it him?

Wanting to get a better look, Hiccup began walking…at the same time as the boy. Without Hiccup realising, he began mimicking the kid's movements exactly. They stepped on a line at the same moment, causing Toothless to growl. They flinched and lifted their foot off the ground (Hiccup winced because it meant putting weight on his prosthetic) and Toothless smiled, pacified.

Smirking, Hiccup decided to play with the dragon for a moment. He placed his foot down and lifted it up a couple of times, as did the boy but slowly, he was fading away just as Hosten had, leaving Hiccup alone with Toothless although he didn't notice. After a while, once Toothless was on the verge of 'very ticked off', Hiccup placed his foot over the line and smiled - he wasn't idiotic enough to ignore advice like 'don't tick off a Night Fury'.

Hiccup then glanced at his feet and began stepping over the lines one by one. A surge of freedom filled him…it was the same freedom he felt whenever he danced. Without thinking, Hiccup began dancing across the drawing, spinning gracefully as he stepped over each line in turn. His eyes closed and warmth enveloped his body - this warmth was comforting but powerful and strong at the same time. After a while, Hiccup found himself coming to a stop once he'd found himself at the edge of Toothless' drawing when he felt a warm breeze down the back of his neck.

Turning around, Hiccup found himself face to face with Toothless, who was gazing at him with a look in his eyes that was kind and welcoming. The eyes felt so familiar that Hiccup couldn't help but reach his hand out…he wanted so badly to greet that face…

…Hiccup hesitated. Everything was…so surreal. Everything he knew was back in the human realm…everything he cared for. Astrid was there…his father was there…this was his only hope to be with them again but why did he feel that if he would never return to a normal life even if he made it through this?

Toothless grunted, snapping Hiccup out of his musings. His eyes narrowed questioningly, as if to ask why Hiccup was hesitating. And, somehow, Hiccup understood him.

 _I've waited so long…are you really you?_

"I…I don't know…" Hiccup replied without thinking. Taking a deep breath, he held his hand out again but didn't quite touch the dragon's nose, instead stopping just short it it as he closed his eyes and turned his head away. Toothless blinked a few times but eventually closed his eyes in contentment. Gently, he placed his nose against Hiccup's palm.

Hiccup felt a surge pass through his fingers and down to his feet as the dragon made contact with him. Opening his eyes, Hiccup breathed deeply to keep himself calm.

 _Wow…_ he thought.

 _I'm glad I found you again,_ Toothless seemed to say as his eyes opened, glittering kindly. Hiccup smiled back and moved to pet the dragon on the nose when something caught his attention…something about himself.

His t-shirt, which he'd been wearing when the fire had struck, had been replaced with a reddish long-sleeved shirt under a tunic of a darker green colour. He had cloth wraps on his lower arms and a leather harness crisscrossing his torso. On his right foot, he wore a leather riding boot whilst his normal prosthetic had been replaced with a wood and metal spring-loaded one. He also wore dark khaki green trousers as well as knee-pads, and leather shoulder-guards were attached to the harness.

Taking a deep breath, Hiccup leant his forehead against Toothless', embracing his new self…and his one chance to return to his old self…as blue and green fire danced at their feet.


	22. Touch the Sky

_**Touch the Sky:**_

Merida practically had a heart attack when her head nearly became best friends with a pillar of rock. Luckily, her reflexes kicked in and she was able to twist herself out of the way and instead fell splat onto a very muddy floor.

"Och…tha's it. I _hate_ the supernatural," she mumbled, huffing further when she saw how dirty her trainers had become. "An' they were my best pair an' all…"

Deciding that she was doing herself no favours by just sitting there, Merida picked herself up and began examining her surroundings. Shaking her head clear and sweeping her tangled mess of hair out of her face, Merida blinked in awe of what surrounded her.

She was in the middle of a large clearing, one edged with stone pillars. The clearing itself was located within a dense forest, with a cloud-speckled blue sky above her head. The smell of pine filled her nostrils refreshingly…it reminded her of Scotland…of home.

"Weird…" Merida muttered. Well, it was the first thing that had come into her head. The place was…weirdly beautiful, in a sense. Alongside the scent of pine was the scent of wet grass, a smell that Merida had always loved as a child. It somehow comforted her, making her momentarily forget about the situation she and her friends had been thrown into. "It's…so…"

"Familiar?" a soft, yet strongly accented voice sounded from within the trees. Merida spun around in surprise and had to blink a few times to double check what she was seeing. "Ah've always liked places like this. There's something…advent'rous…abou' forests like these, wouldnae you agree?"

The voice belonged to a young woman…or at least, an apparition of one. She was so translucent that Merida could see the forest through her. But that didn't mean she couldn't make out her appearance.

The woman looked very young, not much older than twenty if Merida had to take a guess, with a waterfall of flaming hair tumbling over her shoulders, held out of her face by a simple golden circlet. Her eyes were bright aquamarine, glinting with daring courage and playful glee. She was garbed in a dark turquoise velvet gown that was split at the sides to her hips, revealing leggings of dark green, and around her waist was a dark blue tartan belt, held in place with a Celtic-knot designed clasp. The woman was also armoured in a silver-coloured metal…it didn't quite look like the steel armour Merida had seen in museums…in a way that gave her a powerful appearance. The armour wasn't sparse - in fact, it looked like it would be decently practical in battle - but at the same time, it didn't detract from the woman's almost royal presence.

"You're…you're one of them, aren't ya?" Merida asked. "One of them Season Spirits tha' Mother Nature woman was goin' on about."

"Am'm tha mem'ry of Sol Himmel…Summer Spirit…yes," the woman nodded. "The title of Season Spirit or Earth Guardian belongs ta you now, lass." Merida bit her lip and groaned. Perfect…she guessed there was no running from it now. "Although…this isnae preferable…"

"What isnae preferable?" Merida quizzed worriedly.

"Yer so young," the woman…Sol…sighed sadly. "This isnae like what 'appened ta Frost…'e was ready fer Guardian-hood…Man in the Moon knew tha'. You and yer friends…this isnae right."

"You're tellin' me," Merida huffed. "Apparently we've got to…quote unquote here… _embrace our heritage_ if we're to stand a chance of getting back," she explained. "Care to expand on tha'? Cos, to be perfectly honest, I'm not terribly clear on…"

"Faster, Angus!" a shout crowed through the trees, causing Merida to leap out of her skin.

"AH! You never said ya brought company!" she exclaimed. Sol laughed softly, her bright red locks bouncing up and down. Merida was suddenly struck with how much the Summer Spirit looked like her.

"Ah didnae bring anyone with me," she replied. "This is a glimpse inta yer life before this one."

"A past life?" Merida blinked. Sol nodded and indicated the trees. Squinting, Merida gasped and took a step back when she spotted a horse and its rider tearing through the forest, the rider laughing with unbounded joy. Merida just about saw a flash of red before the rider and horse duo vanished. "Another red-head?" she pouted. "Just because I've got a head of fire and tha' person also 'as one, doesnae mean…"

"Run after her," Sol encouraged. "Ya share more similarities than jus' yer hair."

"I cannae keep up with a horse!" Merida protested.

"This isnae the real world, lass," Sol winked. "Believe tha'cha can. You'll catch up. Trust me."

Merida rolled her eyes and pulled a face - okay, no harm in trying, she supposed. Focusing in the direction she'd seen the horse and rider go, Merida psyched herself up, took a few deep breaths and made a sprint start…

"EEK!" she cried as within a few steps she found herself side-by-side with the horse. Glancing over her shoulder, she began seething when she saw Sol laughing until her sides splint. "YOU DIDNAE SAY I COULD TELEPORT!"

"Where there's water, you can go," Sol chuckled. "An' there's been a bucke' load o' rain aroun' here!"

"IT'S _RAINWATER_! THA'S NOT EXACTLY A LAKE!" Merida shrieked. To be fair, she didn't even feel wet. Even so, her pace had slowed to that of the horse's, which, granted, was still quite fast, but it was 'being in the backseat of the car whilst driving along an empty country road' fast, the 'fast' you would imagine yourself going as a child.

"Like Ah said," Sol grinned mischievously. "This isnae tha real world. Think of i' as…a practise range."

"You supernaturals make no sense…" Merida huffed and turned her attention to the rider…now that she was closer, she held back a gasp of shock.

The rider was a girl, probably not much older than sixteen, with a round face framed with wild red curls that reached her waist. When Merida caught a glimpse of them, the girl's eyes were a bright aquamarine and her smile…

Merida knew that smile from photos of her archery contests back home in Scotland. And here the girl was, with the same smile…firing arrows whilst riding atop a horse…

Glancing around, Merida spotted targets painted onto stumps where branches used to be on the trees, each one having at least ten arrows crowding the centre in neat bunches.

"She's…just like me…" Merida realised, skidding to a halt as she, along with the girl and her horse as well as Sol, came out onto a cliff face.

"Aside from tha dancin', yes," Sol nodded, walking over so that she was side-by-side with Merida. "This is Princess Merida DunBroch, heir to her clan."

"Princess? An' she's got my name as well?" Merida spluttered. "Ya mean to say tha' _I'm_ my own _descendant_?!" she realised.

"Well, we like keepin' in tha same bloodline," Sol shrugged. "Aside from the oversized ah-cicle. Spent a fair amoun' of time keepin' an eye on Manny when 'e was just a wee babe way back when."

"Tha' who he's stuck as now?" Merida asked, remembering what Mother Nature had said.

"Ah guess," Sol replied uncertainly. "Wha' 'appened to 'im?"

"We donnae know," Merida sighed. "I mean, we're all in a mess but Jack…he's less than what we are, if that's even possible." Sol sighed but didn't offer up a reply - perhaps she couldn't think of any. "So… _that_ Merida…how long ago is this?" Merida asked, gesturing at the red-headed princess (she'd been a _princess_? She found that almost as hard to believe as her being a Guardian or whatever, if not harder).

"This is…och, maybe Medieval times? Ah lost track," Sol replied. Merida choked on air in surprise. Wow…that long ago, huh? "Yer probably wond'rin' why you share so much in common." Merida made a sarcastic face - well, duh. Anyone would.

"She's got my name, looks and skills with a bow," Merida huffed. "Yes, I'd like an explanation."

"We call these Constants," Sol explained. "Things tha' carry through all 'our lives, spirit an' human."

"Sensible name, I guess," Merida supposed. She watched in silence for a while as the late afternoon sun drifted across the sky. The girl in front of her, clearly unable to see Merida and Sol, was carving a design into her bow before looking up in awe as she saw an eagle pass overhead.

"Sense of adventure was somethin' ya clearly ne'er lost, as well," Sol smiled gently.

"Wouldnae say 'adventure'," Merida shrugged. "More like…okay, you're right," she admitted. "Just…wanted something different out of my life. Never thought it would be _this_ different," she grimaced, gesturing at herself.

They followed the girl to a cliff face by a thundering waterfall. The girl seemed to examine the rock face, as if planning a route upwards. Merida felt compelled to climb…something called her to that cliff.

"The Fire Falls," Sol said softly. Merida turned her attention back to her. "It was from these falls that you were born, millennia ago."

"You mean, you were born, right?" Merida question. Sol shook her head.

"Like Ah said before, Ah'm but a mem'ry of Sol Himmel," she reminded the young lady. "You bear tha' title…tha' name…now." She looked back to the Fire Falls which the Princess Merida of centuries past was looking at with a fierce determination. "You shouldnae 'ave to bear this burden so soon…yer far from ready…but Ah know ya need this power to take back what's rightfully yers."

"My life…" Merida remembered sadly, stepping closer and closer to the falls, merging with her past self without even realising it. As she did, floating blue lights began surrounding her, filling her with a sense of comfort. Merida recognised them from tales that her mother used to tell her. "These are…"

"Will o' the Wisps," Sol smiled. "The spirits tha' guide people to their fates…and under yer comman' now." Merida had fallen silent in awe as she placed a hand on the cliff, finding a steady handhold. "May they guide you and yer friends safely…" Sol paused as she began to fade. Merida cast one last look back at her.

"Ah wish you luck, lass," Sol whispered as she vanished. Merida could only smile in thanks as she turned her attention back to the cliff. Clenching her jaw and answering the call within her heart, she began to climb.

Merida pulled herself further up the cliff, gasping when she slipped but regained her composure quickly with a small nervous laugh. This was the most exhilarating freedom she'd ever felt…she felt as if she was in control of everything. Before long, she was at the top of the small cliff which reached about halfway up the Fire Falls, surrounded by glowing, smoky-blue Wisps with the sunset at her back.

Merida crowed in delight at having made it to the top of the falls. As she did, her clothes began to change. Her favourite dark teal top began to extend into a shin-length, long sleeved split-skirt dress, with an off-white undershirt poking through at her elbows. Her trainers changed into brown leather pixie boots and a quiver of eagle-feathered arrows was attached to a leather belt around her hips. The bow that the Princess Merida had been using was now slung over Merida's shoulders.

Taking in her transformation briefly, Merida walked over to the Fire Falls themselves. Each step she took made her feel more powerful…she could hear the water singing as it tumbled down the rock face. She could feel each droplet against her skin as it they were a part of her very being. Cupping her hands together, Merida drank from the falls that had supposedly been the Summer Spirits origin.

At that moment, the Fire Falls exploded with a triumphant power as the water swirled around Merida, who revelled in the moment she accepted her fate…

The fate she _had_ to accept if she was ever to return to the life she'd once know.

* * *

 **I know a lot of people would put Merida with 'fire' as an element when it comes to the Big Four, but hear me out:**

 **Water is often linked to change and transition, which I believe fits Merida very well considering how much she changes during** ** _Brave_** **('change' in general is a big theme of the film, so that's another thing). I know that many pair her with fire because of her personality (and maybe her hair has something to do with it), but there is a reason (besides the dragons) that I gave that element to Hiccup in the previous chapter.**

 **Fire has two different sides to it: on the one hand, it is destructive, but at the same time it formed an essential part of mankind's survival. In the** ** _HTTYD_** **franchise, the dragons have also shown a similar dual-nature to them: they can be aggressive beasts and even used in** **warfare, or they can better the lives of those who befriend them. Hiccup grows to understand this, and while he avoids the destructive side of dragons if he can help it, he is also capable of using it to defend what he's worked so hard to achieve.**

 **So those are my reasons behind the elemental allocations for Merida and Hiccup.**


	23. Now's When my Life Begins

_**Now's When my Life Begins**_

"EEK!" Rapunzel shrieked as she suddenly found herself with a wall in her face. Okay, how had she gone from the starry blackness she and the others had walked into together to this? First the hair, now transportation into a building…magic made no sense. Luckily, she skid to a halt just before grazing her nose. Pushing herself away from the wall, Rapunzel took a step back to examine where the Seeing Lake, or whatever Mother Nature had called the frozen pond back in Burgess, had taken her.

She found herself in a round room, with the walls covered in murals of stunningly bright colours. The room itself was furnished rather simply - a small alcove with a wood stove and counter top which Rapunzel could only assume served as a kitchen, another small alcove separated from the rest of the room by a curtain containing a bed, a mirror and a few armchairs. There was also a set of stairs, at the top of which was another curtained doorway, as well as a window large enough for a person to stand on the sill and not bang their head on the frame above them.

Walking over to the window, carefully hopping over her stupidly long hair as she did so, Rapunzel peered outside and threw herself back into the room when she saw that she was, in fact, at the top of a tower, at least thirty five feet from the ground. After what had happened to her earlier that evening, Rapunzel was now understandably terrified of heights and she backed away from the window as fast and far as she could.

"Why, oh, why would that pond send me to the top of a tower when I just fell out of my apartment window?" she mumbled fearfully to herself. What was she supposed to get out of this?! Get over her newly developed fear of something that had left her, for want of a better term, _half dead_?! It was a bit soon for that, wasn't it? And where were the others, anyway? They had been holding her hands! Where had they gone?!

Something scurried by Rapunzel's feet, bringing her out of her terrified stupor. Glancing down, Rapunzel blinked in surprise as she caught sight of a bright green chameleon…wasn't that…?

"Pascal?" she whispered when another set of footsteps caught her attention. It came from up the stairs…Rapunzel had to hold in another cry of shock. Descending the stairs with a playful grin on her face was another girl, late teens at a guess, with bright green eyes…and seventy feet of bright golden hair.

"What?!" Rapunzel yelped. The girl didn't seem to hear or otherwise notice her as she searched around the tower. Eventually, her search brought her to the window. "Be careful!" Rapunzel called out of instinct but the girl didn't seem fazed.

"Hmm," she grinned. "I supposed Pascal's not hiding out here…" She walked back a few steps before looping her hair around a small hook at the top of the window, using it as a lasso. Rapunzel blinked in surprise - okay, so…this girl clearly knew how to use her hair and was used to it…but why, aside from the pink a-few-inches-above-the-ankles-length dress that looked like something out of the late seventeen to early eighteen hundreds, did she look exactly like Rapunzel?

"I see you're already getting acquainted with your previous human life," a soft but chipper voice sounded from the other side of the room. Spinning around and getting increasingly tangled in her own hair, Rapunzel gasped quietly when she spotted the apparition of a young woman, not much older than herself, with the same heart-shaped face and bright green eyes as her and the girl behind her. However, this woman's hair, whilst long and blonde, was just longer than herself, trailing slightly at her feet but not to the extent Rapunzel's was.

The woman looked like a warrior princess from what Rapunzel could gather off her translucent appearance. She was clothed in a pink satin dress, not much different to the girl now darting around the tower doing chores, although the patterns were slightly different, as was the neckline, and she wore a petticoat of light silver chainmail rather than the white one the girl in the tower wore. She was lightly armoured with a gold chest plate, shoulder guards and hip guards which reached her knees when resting and the armour itself was emblazoned with the symbol of a sun. Her feet were bare apart from golden armour plates held in place by a band of gold around her ankles. On her head, she wore a jewelled tiara with three crystals being the centre-piece: one was blue, the centre one was red, and the third was green. All other jewels visible on the woman's person, namely on her armour, were rose pink.

"Are you…?" Rapunzel began to ask. The woman walked forward to greet her properly.

"Not quite," she answered. "The title of Spirit of Spring belongs to you now. I am the memory of Fleur Rampion."

"That's…my spirit name?" Rapunzel clarified. Fleur nodded. "And that girl…she's…who I was before?"

"Just under three hundred years ago, I believe," Fleur replied. "She is where the tales of Rapunzel stem."

"Her name's also Rapunzel?!" Rapunzel spluttered.

"Name's are what we call a Constant in our human lives," Fleur explained. "One way or another, they stay the same. The name that differs is your spirit name." Rapunzel listened closely, wanted to take in and understand as much as she possibly could. She had to if she was going to get a proper grasp of this situation. "The hair's another."

"But…my hair was short…and brown," Rapunzel frowned, tugging at her new hair.

"That is its natural form," Fleur explained. "There was a time where magic existed in the human realm as well…after a time, people began ceasing to truly believe in it. As such, it faded."

"That's awful," Rapunzel murmured sadly.

"Or perhaps it was for the best," Fleur contradicted. "Magic is finicky. People either embrace it or, more often than not, fear it. I'm sure I don't need to tell you about witch hunts." Rapunzel shivered - oh, she remembered that from her history classes, alright. "And now magic is what has sent you here."

"The witch…the Baba Yaga," Rapunzel deduced. "But…now we have to use some form of magic of our own to get our lives back, right?"

"It seems that way," Fleur nodded. Rapunzel asked why she'd been brought to a glimpse of her past life. "When we move from each life to the next, we forget who we used to be. For you and your friends, you are half in this realm and half in the human world, hence you remember. Bringing you here…it is to help you see who you once were and how that has made you who you are. Watch her."

Rapunzel did so, watching the Past-Rapunzel closely as she went about her morning activities. Along with the chores, she evidently liked music (she had a few strums of a guitar at one point), reading and, most of all, art. Numerous times, she used her hair as a harness to pull herself up to the higher points on the wall to add more to the existing murals around her. She also seemed to enjoy dancing, although her hair got in the way a fair amount, and singing.

"She's just like me," Rapunzel noticed. "But…I still don't understand…"

"This girl had a power of her own," Fleur explained. "A song allows her to harness the regenerative abilities of the Sun Flower…a flower you yourself bestowed upon the human realm millennia ago." Rapunzel remembered what Fleur had said about being a memory…of course, she was a remnant. Rapunzel was the Spirit around here. "I think you know the song."

" _Flower, gleam and glow…_ " Rapunzel whispered to herself, gasping as her hair glowed when the lyrics left her lips. "My hair glows when I sing?"

"It doesn't just glow - I've just said," Fleur pointed out patiently. Rapunzel thought back a few seconds.

"Regenerative abilities…it has the power to heal?" she realised.

"It has the power to restore," Fleur corrected. "That is what Spring is all about - restoring life and beauty to the world after Winter provides the slate for life to begin anew."

Rapunzel's attention went back to her past-self. The girl was staring wistfully out of the window, singing about lights that would appear the following night…her birthday. She seemed drawn to the world outside her window…by the sound of things, she'd lived here her whole life.

"The magic…why did people start to stop believing in it?" Rapunzel asked. "If they knew it existed…" Fleur paused before answering.

"In truth, you had a part to play in that," she replied. "As the world progressed, you and the others began to recognise how dangerous magic would be in the human realm. Science was taking over and magic became a myth. Those who could wield it were hunted and…" she shuddered, not finishing the sentence. "It started with Hosten taking the creatures of myth and legend into hiding to protect them…and he'd worked so hard to strike a balance between them and mankind…" she sighed sadly.

"Is Hosten…Hiccup's Spirit?" Rapunzel guessed.

"So he took that name again?" Fleur giggled. "Never quite understood that…he's endearing in that way." Rapunzel took that answer as a 'yes'.

"What about the other one? Merida's?" she quizzed.

"Sol," Fleur replied. "She used to guide people to their fates…she realised that it was best for people to chose their own paths. Not to mention, a brush with magic in her previous human life nearly left her family in tatters."

"So you…I mean, _we_ began taking magic out of the human world to stop that kind of thing happening again?" Rapunzel questioned.

"It would seem those were your motives, yes," Fleur answered. "But by taking magic away from the human realm, many spirits lost the means to make themselves seen."

"But Emma and her mother said…"

"Mother Nature commands the Planet Earth and those who have lived in it, but not spirits who now dwell in the Shadows or Moonlight," Fleur cut across. "She can only grant that power to them on select occasion, and even then, they must give up their own power for as long as they can be seen by humans."

Rapunzel realised that had to have been why Jack never gave away any indication he was a Winter Spirit - no magic, no nothing. He could be seen by others, so he couldn't use the magic that made him who he fundamentally was. When he'd found the Baba Yaga, he must have been reverted to his spirit form by Mother Nature.

"Since then, only spirits that are believed in can be seen in the human realm…and even then, it is only children," Fleur continued sadly. "Their belief is so powerful, it sustains them. They lose the ability to see spirits when they reach adulthood, but in each person is the smallest ounce of belief…why else would humankind continue to tell stories of figures they may think of being from fairytales?"

"Like the Baba Yaga?" Rapunzel asked. Fleur nodded. "What is it with her, anyway?"

"I don't know," Fleur sighed. "As a Spirit of the Shadows, she doesn't often mingle with those who dwell in the Moonlight." Rapunzel sighed sadly before turning her attention back to the tower. A woman had just entered…was that…?

"Mother?" she gasped. The woman certainly looked like Gothel, except her hair was slightly streaked with grey and her skin looked a touch older. There was something else about her as well - the way she interacted with the Past- Rapunzel, whilst outwardly seemed like a teasing mother, seemed off somewhat…Rapunzel couldn't put her finger on why.

"Another Constant," Fleur began. "Although this Gothel…she was a little different to the one you know."

"How so?"

"This one had a dark spirit. But it seems she has somewhat redeemed herself in this life."

"How could she be bad?! Mother took me in when she found me in the streets! She's still looking for my birth parents!" Rapunzel protested.

"As I said - it would see she has redeemed herself," Fleur repeated. "I believe she was another reason you decided that it may be time to remove magic entirely from the human realm."

"Misuse?" Rapunzel guessed. Fleur merely nodded in reply - Rapunzel watched as her past self and Past-Gothel sat down, with Past-Rapunzel rapidly singing the song Rapunzel herself didn't know how she knew…her hair glowed bright gold and when Past-Gothel brushed it, a surge of energy went through her. She looked young again. "Exploitation," Rapunzel realised.

"You mustn't hate your mother now for what she can't remember being," Fleur comforted. Rapunzel nodded - her Gothel was nothing like this one…not entirely, anyway. "For now, you must focus on yourself and taking control of what is yours once again."

"These…Spirit powers?" Rapunzel frowned. "Apart from the hair glowing thing, what exactly are they?"

"Each Earth Guardian controls an element," Fleur explained. "You created the Sun Flower eons ago…perhaps you can guess yours." Rapunzel scrunched her face up in thought for a moment.

"Flowers? Plants?" she guessed. Fleur smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Earth?" Rapunzel blinked in surprise. "But what about Mother Nature?"

"Oh, she takes care of the heavy lifting," Fleur chuckled. "Consider yourself an Earth Mage, if that makes things easier."

"I was never one for RPGs," Rapunzel pouted dryly. Fleur giggled. "But that's what I have to master to get my life back?"

"It's the best course of action I can see," Fleur replied. "I only wish I could help you more."

"Well, a little help's better than none," Rapunzel smiled. She could already see the memory of the Spring Guardian starting to fade from sight. "Thank you."

"I wish you luck," Fleur murmured before she faded away, leaving Rapunzel in the tower with her past self (Gothel had headed back outside). Sighing sadly, Rapunzel tentatively walked back over to the window and leant against the frame, watching Past-Rapunzel's hair sway gently in the late morning breeze. Rapunzel could feel the girl's wistful sadness…her longing to head into the outside world. She'd barely been in this tower a few hours, it seemed, but it felt like longer.

Rapunzel realised that she still had her frying pan tucked under her arm. Walking to the alcove kitchen, she placed it down and went to examine the art set that her past self had been using earlier. Besides dancing and music, Rapunzel's main joy in life had always been art. No longer paying attention to the other long-blonde-haired girl behind her, Rapunzel opened the paint box and turned to a small space on the wall. Picking up a paintbrush and dipping it into a colour at random, Rapunzel began drawing a small pattern onto the wall…

Only to stumble backwards as the pattern flew off the wall and danced around her in a ribbon of light.

The light danced across the floor, leaving small flowers momentarily in its wake before vanishing. The light reflected off Rapunzel's hair as she experimented with the brush a little more, out of curiosity. The brush left behind a trail of golden light, streaked with silver, pale pink and lilac, which fluttered with petals on occasion as well.

Taking a deep breath, Rapunzel began testing out the capabilities of her new hair. Looping a strand around her hand like a lasso, she began hooking it around levers and beams around the tower, hoisting herself around as if she was on an advanced rope course. She started tentatively but as the afternoon went by, her confidence grew - if she fell, she somehow got tangled in her own hair and would stop a few inches above the ground Mission-Impossible style. She began to trust her hair to hold her up…she began to trust more in herself.

Finally, Rapunzel turned to the window itself. She wasn't going to get anywhere if she couldn't conquer what had brought her to the Spirit Realm to begin with. As she walked over, Rapunzel noticed that her clothes had changed. She no longer wore her post-Round Two clothes, but a dress very similar to what her past-self and Fleur had been wearing, the difference being that it was shorter and had a split skirt. She wore purple leggings and her feet were still bare, but the materials her clothes were made of were still sturdy.

Taking a deep breath, Rapunzel set her jaw and stared outside. She was now part of this realm for now…if she was to return to the human realm, she would have to embrace that. Looping her hair around the hook at the top of the window, Rapunzel took a tentative step onto the windowsill. Music began leaving her lips before she realised.

 _Look at this world…so new, and I'm now part of it.  
Look at it all - so strange. Do I even dare?  
Look at me…one more step and I have to take it…_

"Should I?" Rapunzel whispered to herself, turning back into the tower for a brief second before snapping herself out of her doubt. She had to seize this.

 _No!  
Here I go!_

With a literal leap of faith, Rapunzel threw the rest of her hair out of the window, letting it fall to the ground before grabbing it like a rope. She then jumped off the windowsill, letting herself slide gleefully down her rope of hair…this was…it wasn't scary. It was…

Amazing.

Rapunzel stopped herself just before she crashed into the ground, stopping a foot or two above the ground. When her bare foot came into contact with the lush green grass, Rapunzel took a gasp of delight. She…she could hear them…the individual blades of grass. The sound was almost indescribable, but it was as if all the songs of nature had made themselves known to her…it was beautiful.

Smiling, Rapunzel held the paintbrush she'd taken from the tower in front of her and let the light trail from it - in its wake, flowers sprung and danced. Rapunzel laughed with delight.

 _I hear the grass, the dirt…the way they sing to me!  
I feel that warm, spring breeze - the way its calling me!  
It's like the whole wide world is now one with me!_

Turning to a wall of ivy, Rapunzel began running. She knew that going through that ivy would begin something…take her somewhere. She didn't know where, but she knew that wherever it was, she needed to go there. Grinning wildly and relishing the feeling of the grass and flowers beneath her feet, she sprinted forward.

 _I feel like running, and racing,  
And dancing, and chasing,  
And leaping, and bounding,  
Hair flying, heart pounding,  
And splashing and reeling!  
For, strangely, I'm feeling…_

 _Now my new life begins!_


	24. Once a Guardian, Always a Guardian

_**Once a Guardian, Always a Guardian:**_

Now, if Jack actually had the capacity to make a noise, he would have happily declined his right to remain silent as the stars around him suddenly blinked out to be replaced with a cold, black void. Unfortunately, his voice had somewhat gone AWOL.

 _Just my frickin' luck, isn't it?_ Jack thought to himself. _First I stumble across the Baba Yaga of all people, get caught in a bloody trap and now I'm practically a ghost by spirit standards and to top it all off, I can't talk._

Jack had put up with a lot in his three hundred years as Jack Frost but this took the biscuit. The light his now-wispy figure gave off did little to penetrate the darkness around him, but if he squinted, Jack was just about able to make out another light source…a tiny dimming glow against an inky black silhouette. Clasping his staff…or what was left of it…also, it had changed shape from a shepherd's crook to a spear…Jack leapt through the darkness, discovering as his feet and head brushed (okay, sometimes bashed) against stalactites and stalagmites that he was in a deep cavern of some kind. He shivered at the familiarity of it - it almost felt like Pitch's Lair.

Once Jack had reached the light, he held his staff…spear…in front of him as he crept closer. He recoiled when he spotted a the silhouette in front of him. It was a body, tall and lithe with thin, almost delicately formed limbs and fingers. That face…

That was the face of the Boogeyman and King of Shadows, Pitch Black.

Jack let out a silent cry and sprung back quickly, holding his sta… _spear_ …up defensively. However, Pitch didn't move. He didn't even appear to acknowledge Jack's presence.

 _Great,_ Jack huffed inwardly, sagging slightly. _Invisible again._ What was the point of this Seeing Lake if he was just going to be unseen by whatever he found in its depths, might he ask? It did give him a chance to take a closer look at the light in Pitch's chest. It was emanating from the end of a spear, very similar to the one Jack was now carrying, but it was a light similar to the one Jack was now giving off in his wispy, essence-of-his-power form.

That form was the small figure of a boy who looked exactly like Jack in his non-physical state.

 _Is that…Nightlight?_ Jack wondered. He'd heard of the spirit - the Guardian of the Man in the Moon and close friend of Mother Goose - and how, one day over three hundred…nearly four hundred…years ago, he'd mysteriously vanished. Everything Jack had heard had been through word of mouth from other spirits, but he'd never been told that he looked like the missing boy.

So why did he look like him now? Why had Mother Nature called him 'Nightlight'?

Jack leapt backwards as a streak of moonlight suddenly penetrated the cavern. Jack recognised this light as something a little different - it was a Moonbeam. In effect, it was a scout sent to Earth by the Man in the Moon. Jack had seen few of them in his time as a Guardian, but this one felt…familiar somehow. Curiosity seemed to take over the Moonbeam as it crept closer to Pitch…when it came into contact with the staff lodged in the Boogeyman's chest, it was almost sucked into the crystal…a shard of Moonstone…and light suddenly filled the cavern, blinding Jack momentarily. When the light cleared, the glowing figure of Nightlight now stood straight and tall, playful and eyes glinting with glee.

Jack could see that he was armoured in a strange metal and his hair was swept forwards, swaying in a wind of its own. As if overjoyed to be free from his prison within Pitch's heart. Nightlight grasped his spear and sprung upwards, heading for the cavern exit. Jack was quick to follow, eager to leave the cold, dark place. He followed Nightlight into the skies where he watched him play among the clouds…

He was so much like him.

"You always enjoyed playing around," a gentle voice laughed behind him. Jack spun around in the air and blinked in surprise to see a young man who looked at lot like him when he was in his physical spirit form…but at the same time, there were elements of Nightlight as well. The guy couldn't be much older than seventeen and had the white hair and ice-blue eyes Jack was known for in the Spirit Realm. He was garbed in light armour of a silver-blue metal: enough for battle but scarce enough to be able to move around comfortably in. His clothing in general was colours blue, brown and white with frost tinting every surface with a delicate beauty. In his hand was a shepherd's crook shaped spear, embedded with crystals that glimmered in the moonlight.

 _Jokul Frosti,_ Jack realised silently.

"The memory of him," Jokul corrected. "You know as well as I do that you are Jokul Frosti." Jack started.

 _Wait, you can hear me?_ he asked without words, gesturing to himself. Jokul chuckled sadly.

"Not quite hear you, but you're doing a decent job with the signing and facial expressions," he smirked. Jack groaned…well, he would have done but no noise came from his mouth. "I guess some of it stuck from this life," he commented, nodding at Nightlight who was chasing a few clouds. Jack jabbed a thumb in his direction.

 _What? He can't talk?_

"If records read correctly, then, no - you weren't exactly very vocal as Nightlight, either," Jokul replied dryly. Jack pulled a face. "Is that supposed to say 'that doesn't make any sense'?" Jack shrugged - that was one meaning, he guessed. "Look, you know about the whole 'new life, new memories' thing. I'm the memory of how Jokul Frosti looks plus a few tidbits of info! I'm not a memory bank."

Jack shot a glare at him.

 _You knew that I've always enjoyed fun, didn't you?!_

"True," Jokul shrugged. Jack's eyes widened and he pointed at the apparition of his apparent 'true' appearance…he was guessing that was what this guy was, anyway.

 _Aha! So you can hear me!_

"Okay, fine - you caught me," Jokul chuckled. Jack pulled a frustrated scowl and ground his teeth together in annoyance. Now was not the best time for people to be messing with him. However, he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere by throwing a tantrum so he decided that he might as well try to get as many answers as he could from Jokul.

 _So what's the deal with the whole me-apparently-being-Nightlight thing, anyway?_

"Well, Nightlight was Manny's Guardian during the Golden Age, going into the Dark Ages," Jokul replied as they kept on Nightlight's tail. "You'd been around a fair bit longer than that, although I think I'm right in saying that Nightlight was one of your first forms."

 _So, I wasn't always Jokul Frosti?_ Jack frowned.

"No, you and Nightlight are one and the same," Jokul explained. "All of you Earth Guardians once wielded Moonlight in some form…before your Elements settled." Jack silently wondered what had made him change. Nightlight was a spirit like any other in the Realm of Moonlight…what had turned him into Jack Frost? And to add to that…when had he taken a mortal life?

"There's a long story behind that. You grew close to a human girl," Jokul answered Jack's silent question. Jack frowned questioningly at him so Jokul indicated a town below them. The town was surrounded by a dense forest and covered in snow…Jack felt a recognition in his heart, even though he was sure he hadn't been here…at least, not recently.

 _Santoff Clausen?_ he blinked in surprise. North had told him about this place…it was where he'd first started his journey to becoming a Guardian of Childhood. Jokul nodded.

"I'm sure you know of Mother Goose - Katherine Gosling?" he noted. Jack nodded - the Guardian of Storytelling. Jokul indicated the town again as they descended from the clouds. It seemed a fair amount of time had passed since Nightlight had been playing among the clouds Now, he was playing through the streets with a girl sporting chestnut curly hair and grey eyes. Jack recognised her vaguely - that was Katherine as a young, human girl…a foundling, if he remembered what North had told him.

 _We were friends?_ he asked.

"Looks like it," Jokul remarked. "Nightlight fought in the war against Pitch Black at the end of the Golden Age…in the process, he became trapped in Pitch's heart. His light kept the Nightmare King at bay…"

 _That light was nearly gone when I saw it,_ Jack thought.

"Nightlight was revived by that Moonbeam," Jokul explained. "But the years trapped with the heart of the Nightmare King caused a chill within Nightlight's heart…that began his transition to becoming Jokul Frosti."

Jack frowned - frozen heart? That sounded a lot like what had happened to the Snow Queen's sister when they'd been mortals.

"It wasn't quite the same," Jokul said. "It wasn't obvious to begin with - look." Jack looked - Nightlight seemed perfectly fine. The time changed again - Katherine was slightly older and even Nightlight had aged slightly. He was still very young in appearance.

 _I thought spirits didn't age…_ he pondered.

"A Kiss of Goodnight," Jokul explained. "It saved Katherine when she needed it the most and made time flow for Nightlight again. In effect…that was your first mortal life."

Jack suddenly felt horrible - it seemed that he and Katherine had been incredibly close…he'd saved her? Began ageing alongside her for a time? And for three hundred years, he'd never so much as said hello to her. Her closest friend and vanished…did she know who he was?

 _Going back to Nightlight being me…_ he asked silently.

"The chill in Nightlight's heart caught up with him around the time Katherine officially became a Guardian," Jokul replied. "You stopped ageing again and took measures to stop the chill taking over."

 _Frost…_ Jack realised. He remembered how he'd woken up on the pond over three hundred years ago…the sheer delight and fun he had when he discovered his abilities. He used it as a way to have fun…so that he would stay the same despite it.

"Thus Jokul Frosti returned," Jokul nodded. Jack frowned again.

 _Wait, returned? The way you say it makes it sound like this is how Jokul Frosti first came to be._

"All the Season Spirits were born of the Moonlight," Jokul explained. "Hence you could all use it for a time. But you also had your Elements. You opted to stay in the heavens, in the service of the Lunars, whilst your companions descended to Earth with Mother Nature…she was but a child at the time."

 _A kid Mother Nature?_ Jack snorted silently. _Now_ that _is something I need to see._

"Precocious, to say the least," Jokul chuckled. "Anyway, you had the ability to control frost and the air, but that power was suppressed for a long time due to your service to Tsar and Tsarina Lunar. In the meantime, the powers of winter were passed to other spirits in your stead."

 _Old Man Winter, Father Frost and Yuki Onna,_ Jack realised. So that was why he was the Earth Guardian and not them - his power had been distributed among them.

"Exactly. You forgot your identity of Jokul Frosti and took the name Nightlight," Jokul continued. "The rest, I've told you."

 _So, in effect I've got Pitch to thank for making me…me again,_ Jack grimaced dryly. Great. Owing the Boogeyman a favour. Not something he particularly liked.

"Hey, the man wasn't always so bad," Jokul shrugged. Jack thought back to some of his conversations with North post-becoming a Guardian of Childhood. He could vaguely remember something about Pitch once being in the service of the Lunars himself…a General and Hero of the Golden Age in the battles against the dark Fearlings, early forms of Nightmares. But that was all.

Jack watched as Nightlight's life flashed past. He could see him stop ageing once Katherine had become an immortal Guardian herself, and then as Nightlight started to convert the chill now building in his heart as frost, playing with it and using it to spread joy to children.

Then, mysteriously, Nightlight vanished.

 _Do we know how and why that happened?_ Jack asked. Jokul shrugged.

"Like I said, I can't remember all the minute details," he answered. "If I could, I'd tell you. All I can tell is that…once Nightlight vanished…you were born."

Jack spotted a colonial village…he recognised it from the memories within his Tooth Box. That was colonial Burgess - his hometown. He could see a young boy who resembled Nightlight closely, except he had brown hair and hazel eyes. There was no denying it - that was him.

 _And it was in this lifetime that Manny chose me as a Guardian,_ he remembered.

"Got it in one," Jokul replied. "Now you've got another crisis to deal with."

 _Yeah, about that,_ Jack huffed. _How am I supposed to help my friends when they and I are stuck like this?_

"You think I know?!" Jokul spluttered in defence. "I've shown you and told you what I can."

 _Uhh...how about...? Element? What I'm supposed to do like this? Those would be nice._

"Oh, right," Jokul nodded. Jack face-palmed and made no attempt to restrain himself. Jeez, had he always been this scatterbrained? No wonder Mother Nature liked throwing fits at him. "Element is Air - would have thought that was obvious."

 _Just because I'm tight with the Wind,_ Jack sighed sarcastically.

"As for what you're supposed to do like that," Jokul continued. "You're still mostly solid, you realise? You aren't exactly a ghost."

 _Then why the hell am I nearly see through?! You don't get spirits like this!_

"I thought you'd already figured that one out!"

 _Having an argument with myself is not making me look good! Now answer the darn question!_

"You're the essence of your power, okay? Happy for the clarification?!" Jokul huffed. Jack nodded in satisfaction. "Sad to say, you can't do much without your physical form."

 _And I have no idea what happened to that after I escaped the Baba Yaga._

"Well, looks like you'll have to find out," Jokul pointed out smugly. He was beginning to fade from Jack's sight. "Listen, you're going to need all the luck you can get with this one so…good luck, I guess. Hope you all get back to the way you used to be."

 _Same here,_ Jack sighed, clasping his spear tightly. _I couldn't protect them like I was supposed to. The least I can do for them is help them get home._

"Spoken like a true Guardian," Jokul smiled. "The Guardian you always were."

With that, he vanished from sight. Jack took one last glance at his hometown of the past, this time seeing a ghostly silhouette of Nightlight running parallel to his childhood self. Jack smiled softly, the memories he had of home shining in his mind like a beacon again - how he'd made the children of his village laugh with his mischievous attitude, how he'd protected and saved his sister…

Closing his eyes, Jack felt the wind around him like a small cyclone, taking him away from the visions of his past and back to the Burgess he knew in the present.

Needless to say, the sight that greeted him there was more than a little surprising.

* * *

 **Once more I miss the planned upload day by twelve hours...I really wish this site had a 'queue' function, that would make things so much easier.**

 **Uploaded four chapters at once seeing as they all technically take place at the same time and are basically character development/exposition focused. We get back to the gang in the next chapter, and more of the story itself. Side note, we're now officially over halfway through this thing.**

 **See you guys on Sunday!**


	25. The Big Four

_**The Big Four...both Sets**_

"Well, it's about time ya showed up, Fairy Lights," Merida scoffed when Jack reappeared on the frozen surface of the pond. The wispy boy of light pulled a face and made a few gestures as if trying to say _'_ _Is that a crack about my looks?!'_ (if he wanted to throw an insult back at Merida, it wasn't exactly easy to put into gestures) which made Merida only smirk further. Jack then eyed Merida up and down and gestured to her - with the addition of a questioning look, Merida had to guess that meant: _What's with the new getup?_

"Eh, donnae ask me," she shrugged. "It just sorta 'appened." Her gaze flickered over Jack as well. "I see you 'avenae exactly changed your wardrobe since we took the dip." Jack shot a glare at her before his attention was caught by Rapunzel.

"It's happened to all of us, by the looks of things," she explained. Jack examined Rapunzel's new clothes quickly before tugging at his hair. "Oh, the hair's fine…ish…I guess," Rapunzel answered Jack's silent question. "I'm learning how to use it."

"She's a dab hand as whip-cracking," Mother Nature remarked from the edge of the clearing. Jack squinted at her as if trying to get an idea as to what child-Emily-Jane would have looked like. "What?" Jack held his hands up in defence - _Nothing_. "Hmph."

Jack shot his gaze around the clearing the lake was located in - there was one main face missing. Tapping his left leg before holding his hands out questioningly, he enquired on the whereabouts of Hiccup.

"'pparently 'e got 'ere before the rest of us," Merida replied. "I saw 'im briefly when I got back but he sorta said 'Be back in a tick' and vanished," she added with an impersonation of Hiccup.

"I DO _NOT_ SOUND LIKE THAT!" a nasal voice snapped from the trees. Sure enough, it was Hiccup, also in new garbs like the girls. However, tagging along behind him was a large, black, reptilian creature with bright green eyes, wings and a long tail.

"WHOA! WHOA! WHOA!" Merida exclaimed in shock. "You didnae mention ya brought a pet along with ya!"

The creature growled apprehensively at the sudden noise but Hiccup quickly placed a pacifying hand on his nose.

"Would you keep it down?" he asked nervously. "Don't startle the guy - he's a dragon." That made Jack spiral backwards head-over-heels before he crashed into the branch of a nearby tree.

"A dragon?!" Rapunzel squeaked as Hiccup led the creature back into the clearing.

"Uh-huh," Hiccup nodded. Merida's eyes had gone wide in shocked amazement - how the flip was this guy so calm about the fact that he had a _creature that could breathe fire walking around with him?!_

"And ya let 'im follow you around?!" she spluttered.

"I was gonna fix his saddle!" Hiccup protested, indicating the saddle on Toothless' back - it wasn't exactly in pristine condition and in dire need of repairs…but since when did Hiccup know how to make a saddle?!

"What's a saddle gonna do?!" Merida half shrieked. Jack looked just as shocked from the tree he'd gotten himself stuck in so Hiccup shot them both a pointed glare.

"Look, came across him in there," he explained dryly, indicating the lake. "And he's one of my…Constants, or something." The others nodded slowly - they'd been told about those as well so that saved explanations. "I can't exactly shake him so he's sticking with us. End of story."

The dragon cooed slightly, nuzzling Hiccup's back. Hiccup's face suddenly lit up as he smiled and turned around to give the dragon a scratch.

"Besides, look at him," he grinned.

"He's actually kinda sweet," Rapunzel admitted with a shy giggle. Merida nearly choked on air, as did Jack - 'sweet' and 'dragon' weren't exactly words they'd put in the same sentence. Jack made a few gestures which no one could quite understand so Mother Nature stepped in with the translation.

"He says 'fire and ice don't exactly mix'," she said simply. "Well, you've had to put up with him in the past - you can do it again," she added firmly with a small smirk. Hiccup rubbed the dragon's neck happily whilst Jack sagged. Merida and Rapunzel began to cautiously approach.

"So…what's his name?" Rapunzel asked as she scratched the dragon under the chin - he flopped to the floor almost immediately and began purring contentedly.

"Toothless," Hiccup replied. "He's got retractable teeth."

"Weird name," Merida commented.

"Eh, birds of a feather flock together," Hiccup shrugged. He didn't exactly have a normal nickname himself. The others chuckled slightly at that and even Jack summed up the courage to approach. Toothless, the dragon, certainly seemed amicable enough and once he realised that the people around him were friends of Hiccup's, he warmed to them rather quickly. Despite looking like a ferocious beast, he had the temperament of a cat or a dog, which everyone found rather endearing.

"Never quite understood this one," Mother Nature chuckled. Toothless grunted indignantly at her for that remark. "But you've got a loyal friend here, Hiccup," the woman continued. "You'd do well to keep him by your side."

"Kinda figured that one out for myself, but okay," Hiccup shrugged. Merida glanced at Mother Nature and stood up.

"So…what now? We know who we are, who we were, what our powers are…blah, blah, blah, yakkity smackity," she pointed out dryly. "Where do we go from here? Some sort of training camp?"

"This way," Mother Nature instructed simply, walking to the side of the clearing. Confused, the four teens followed, all commenting on each others new outfits.

"Leather armour and a harness?"

"Not the best fashion sense, I'll admit…where'd you get the bow?"

"Right now I'm jus' gonna use 'magic' as an excuse and leave it at tha'. I'm guessing you're the same with the paintbrush?"

"Well, I picked it up…your leg's not always been like that, has it?"

"If you're talking about the design of the prosthetic, no. If you're talking about the fact it's missing, also no."

Jack could only walk silently beside them so he made mini cyclones around their faces just to remind them that he was also there. The result was some satisfying yelps from all three of his friends plus a few choice curses from Merida.

Mother Nature suddenly came to a stop, turning around to face the four teens with a scarily playful glint in her eyes.

"This is where you meet the others," she smirked. "Buckle up."

Jack's eyes widened in shock as he glanced downwards. The others looked at each other in confusion so he made a few gestures - the gist of the message was: _Brace yourselves._

Hiccup, Merida, Rapunzel and Toothless all shrieked as the ground suddenly vanished beneath them. As they disappeared down the tunnel, Jack hovered in the air for a moment, shooting a dry smirk at Mother Nature.

 _You just couldn't resist, could you?_

"Whoever said I can't have a little fun?" Mother Nature chuckled. "After you."

With that, Jack shot down the tunnel after the others.

* * *

"WHOA!"

"OUCH!"

"OOFF!"

"WATCHIT!"

"Sorry! Couldn't stop…"

"D'ja mind gettin' ya foot out of my face?!"

"Lemme get this dragon off my chest first!"

"Oh, cos _that's_ something you hear everyday…"

Toothless eventually scrambled off the top of the pile and began helping the teens up onto their feet again. Hiccup leant onto Toothless flank to catch his breath again and mumbled something that sounded like _"_ _Well, at least you had a soft landing…"_ , which Toothless grunted sympathetically back to. Merida grumbled something under her breath whilst Rapunzel brushed herself down before having to duck as Jack swooped through the opening of the tunnel they'd just fallen out of.

Jack smirked at the others as if to say _'_ _How was that?'_. This time, his friends seemed to catch his meaning.

"Well, not exactly your standard slide," Hiccup remarked dryly.

"I actually thought it was kinda fun," Rapunzel shrugged.

" _Finally_! Somebody said it!"

"EEK!" the girls and Hiccup yelped when they heard the new voice - this one had a thick Australian accent to it. Spinning around and taking their attention away from the tunnel, they nearly fell on top of each other again when they saw the origin of the voice - a giant, rabbit. Actually, he resembled a hare more than a rabbit - his build was more slender and his back legs were longer.

"Aww, come on," the giant hare huffed. "I'm not _that_ scary am I?"

"Ah, Bunny, you cannot blame," a booming, Russian-accented voice laughed. Darting their gazes over, the three teens saw a man clearly in his golden years with a head of sleek silver hair and a beard to match. He wore red and had tattoos on his arm. Compared to the giant hare…Bunny…he looked normal.

"To be fair, after what Mother Nature's told us, I'm not going to be blaming them for anything," a female voice came. Another shriek from the teens - this one was from a creature that had the face and general body shape of a young woman but the feathers and wings of a hummingbird.

"Giant talking hare and a bird lady…now I've seen everything," Hiccup mumbled.

"Don't forget to add the dragon in there," Rapunzel muttered. The old man walked over and held a hand out to Hiccup, whilst the bird-woman fluttered over to Rapunzel and the hare to Merida.

"All new, yes?" the man noted. The teens nodded, their eyes wide. "Like I said, can't blame. Is shocking for all."

"Speaking of shocking, what the bloody heck happened to you, mate?" Bunny asked, looking at the wispy figure of Jack. The boy looked hopeful before…"Haven't seen you since the end of the Dark Ages."

Jack stomped his foot in frustration and everyone was sure that they saw a cold gust of air puff out of his ears, as opposed to steam.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hold your brumbies, kid!" Bunny stepped back in defence. Jack pouted and shot a glare at the teens as if asking them to explain.

"Uh…do you know him as Nightlight?" Rapunzel asked quietly.

"It's been centuries since we've seen him," the bird-woman nodded. "But…yes?" Jack facepalmed.

"Umm…" Hiccup grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's Jack," Merida said bluntly. The three people…creatures…I don't know…in front of them did a double take.

"JACK?!" the bird-woman shrieked. Jack made a gesture as if to say _'_ _This isn't gonna stop, is it?'_ before the woman shot over. "By the Sisters of Flight! What happened to you?!"

Jack made a few gestures to make it clear that he couldn't talk so his friends stepped in.

"Baba Yaga," Hiccup explained blankly.

"Baba Yaga?" the Russian man frowned. "She is known by other name as well… you sometimes call her Grandma Chickenlegs, yes?"

"Same person," Merida nodded dryly.

"You mean she's the one the Man in the Moon sensed?" Bunny asked solemnly. Hiccup nodded - they'd already been filled in with what had happened during the summer from Mother Nature so, again, explanations were saved, as was time.

"She got us all… I'm guessing you guys are the Guardians of Childhood Mother Nature was telling us about?" he quizzed.

"Sure are," Bunny replied. " Bunnymund, at your service." Jack rolled his eyes in the background - he'd never known the Easter Kangaroo to be this civil.

"Toothiana," the bird-woman introduced. "People just call me Tooth."

"Call me North," the Russian man greeted, shaking the teens' hands in turn. "I don't think we've had the pleasure?"

"Rapunzel. Rapunzel Corona."

"Name's Merida DunBroch."

"Henrik Haddock. People call me Hiccup."

Introductions out of the way, Merida got the smart idea of asking where they were - North replied that they were in his base of operations: the North Pole. Hiccup, Rapunzel and Merida couldn't help but cast glances at each other - they'd believed firmly in this place in their childhood, but had grown out of that belief over time. Rapunzel then remembered what Fleur had told her: that in every person lies a nearly undetectable scrap of belief in their adulthood, which allows the belief of the Guardians to be passed down through the generations.

"It is comfort to know that," North smiled when Rapunzel voiced this out loud.

"I guess that's why we could help children believe again after what happened," Tooth wondered with a hint of sadness in her voice. In response, Jack flew over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder - evidently, the two were close.

"Uh, we heard that 'what happened' had something to do with the Boogeyman," Hiccup cut in. "But we didn't exactly get all the details."

"The guy wanted kids to properly believe in him again," Bunny explained. "To do that, he needed fear and to get rid of belief in us. He targeted Tooth first by making sure that kids' teeth weren't collected."

"Then he target Easter by smashing eggs," North added. "It was bad time for all of us."

"Thanks to Jack we still had one believer left," Tooth smiled. "Don't know if you know him - his name's Jamie Bennett?"

"My neighbour, Pippa, said he's a good friend of hers," Hiccup replied. "I got talking to her soon after I moved to Burgess…mentioned I like mythical creatures and she said I'd get along well with him. Met him once or twice around town. He's a good kid."

"I'm right in thinkin' tha' 'e's the one who's nearly always wearing tha' hat, right?" Merida thought. "Brown eyes, also wears a vest-jacket-y-type-thing?"

"That's him," Bunny nodded. Rapunzel tugged at a strand of hair.

"Can't say I know him," she admitted. Tooth said it didn't matter and went on to explain that because of Jamie's belief, they were able to get enough children believing in them again to defeat Pitch and send him back to his own realm.

"This Baba Yaga…she's also from the Shadows?" Rapunzel asked.

"The last time we checked she was," a familiar voice sounded.

"Ah, Mother Nature," North greeted politely but curtly. "It is honour. Welcome to the Pole."

"Thank you, North," Mother Nature thanked. "Sorry I took some time to catch up," she apologised to the teens and the still-floating Jack. "I had some business to take care of - we'll be expecting a few more visitors in a moment." She glanced around the ground. "Hold up - where's Sandy?"

"Got held up on Dreamsand Runs in Africa," Bunny explained. "Though the Mini Fairies have said he'll be here asap."

"How did we not notice the mini Tooth lookalikes?!" Hiccup hissed to Merida as a couple tried to prise his mouth open - Merida was too busy laughing to reply. Luckily Tooth called the Mini Fairies back over before Hiccup became too embarrassed ("BIT LATE FOR THAT!"). "I'm amazed they didn't instantly go to Toothless…" he mumbled.

"Toothless?!" Tooth gasped. Toothless grunted, shaking his head slightly as he showed off his retractable teeth. "Oh, my word! That is incredible!"

"Are you guys not going to mention that Hiccup's got a freakin' dragon with him or is this kind of thing normal around here?" Merida asked once she'd calmed down.

"Eh, we've had stranger," Bunny shrugged. "Thought I can't say I've seen a dragon or any other kind of mythological creature in nigh on a millennium."

Jack made a few gestures which Mother Nature translated.

"He says 'But aren't you a Pooka, Cottontail?'," she recited. Bunny shot a glare at Jack who snickered silently.

"That's different!" he snapped. A trail of golden sand swirled past his nose before he could get too huffy with the boy - once again, Rapunzel, Merida and Hiccup yelped in surprise. Way too much magic and supernatural for one day…

"Aha! Sandy! Glad you could make it, old friend," North greeted as a tiny golden man stepped of a cloud of glowing sand. The man made a few greetings out of pictures above his head, made of the same sand he appeared to travel on.

"Sandman…" Hiccup realised.

"Okay, _now_ I've seen everything," Merida mumbled. Sandy cast his gaze towards them and made an apologetic face, making a few symbols above his head: a silhouette of himself followed by an eye.

"He saw everything?" Rapunzel guessed. Sandy nodded and then showed an hourglass and a clock. "But were too late?" Again, Sandy nodded.

"You're good at this," Tooth complimented. "Not everyone's that quick at picking up what Sandy's talking about." Rapunzel smiled shyly. "So, is that everyone or are we still expecting guests, Mother Nature?" she asked.

"Yes," Mother Nature replied after a brief pause. "But I want you all to remember that we're on the same side here. I want no quarrels for as long as we need to fix this problem."

"Huh? Wh…why would there be a quarrel?" Bunny asked. Hiccup suddenly gulped.

"Uh-oh, I think I know…" he mumbled.

"Hmm? Know what?" Merida asked. Jack made an expression which asked the same question.

"Who the other guest is," Hiccup replied with a nervous grimace.

"How could you know?" Bunny frowned.

"I just do!" Hiccup retorted when Toothless suddenly growled. The temperature in the room seemed to drop and when eyes shot towards Jack, he held his hands up to say he had nothing to do with it. Hiccup, however, was sticking as close to Toothless as possible before pointing to just behind the Guardians of Childhood. "Plus, he's right there."

Everyone spun around with eyes wide open to be greeted by a soft, smooth voice that sent chills down everyone's spines.

"The Big Four…both sets it seems."

"Sweet cavities, Mother Nature…you didn't…"

"I must admit, I'm a little starstruck."


	26. Reluctant Alliance

_**Reluctant Alliance:**_

Jack's retaliation to seeing Pitch Black in the North Pole was to immediately swing his spear, sending a blast of cold wind in his direction. Bunny also threw a boomerang for good measure whilst Hiccup did his best in the background to stop Toothless from charging…okay, for a likeable dragon with the demeanour of a cat, Toothless did seem to have a hidden mean and protective streak.

"Honestly! Is that _really_ the welcome I get?!" Pitch snapped as he recovered from the attack.

"Frankly, I still don't blame them," Mother Nature sighed. "Although no one can say I didn't ask them to be civil."

"She's right - we witnessed," Rapunzel squeaked nervously. She didn't like the air this man gave off. Pitch glared at the Spirit of the Earth.

"Evidently, you didn't ask well enough," he reprimanded. "I'm offering my help here but if this is the thanks I get, I've half a mind to leave them to their own devices."

"You know as well as I do that you can't afford to do that," Mother Nature argued. Jack was honestly amazed that Pitch had summed up the courage to talk to her in that fashion - _no one_ had ever tried to be snarky with her outside of her Emily-Jane mortal appearance and gotten away without some sort of foliage stuck in strange places for at least a week afterwards! "We now know who was targeting _my_ Guardians, and we _know_ that she came from _your_ Realm! Henceforth, it is _your_ responsibility to help _us_ get _her_ back under control!"

"Alright, calm down, Emily-Jane," Pitch sighed. "A tantrum is not befitting of a lady. I thought I taught you that."

"Wait, what?" Merida blinked in surprise.

"Do…you two know each other?" Hiccup asked nervously. Pitch instantly stepped in with a reply.

"Yes, she's my daughter," he explained bluntly. Hiccup started and ended up tripping over Toothless' tail which had curled protectively around him, Merida jumped and a small smokey-glowing-blob of blue light appeared ("They're called Wisps - Will o' Wisps!"). Rapunzel squeaked slightly before making a small comment.

"Well, I…guess that explains the attitude," she muttered. Jack, on the other hand, had actually started blinking…as in flashing like an alarm light…in response to Pitch's statement.

"Why are _you_ so surprised?" Pitch asked when he noticed. Jack held up his finger and scrunched his face into a frustrated scowl.

"That's 'wind' for 'If one more person calls me 'Nightlight', I'm causing a hurricane and freezing everyone to the ground," Mother Nature translated dryly, folding her arms. Pitch gave her a questioning look. "That's Jack, not the Nightlight you once knew."

"My - someone found a way to shut him up," Pitch noted cynically. Tooth suddenly flew up to him and punched his nose. "ARGH!"

"Don't you _dare_ talk about him that way!" she snapped, shaking her fist whilst Pitch made sure he wasn't missing any more teeth.

"If I say I said the same thing, do ya reckon she'll smack me one as well?" Merida mumbled to Hiccup in an undertone.

"Probably - might be best if you don't mention it," Hiccup whispered back.

"Noted."

"If we are _quite_ done beating me up," Pitch snarled dryly. Tooth backed off and North stood by, keeping a hand on Bunny's shoulder. Pitch was currently counting himself lucky that the man hadn't decided to retrieve his swords. Things might not have ended well for him. "What's the situation here?" he asked calmly, doubly making sure that his slender nose hadn't been broken by the force of Tooth's punch.

"Uh…Baba Yaga targeted and got us," Hiccup began.

"We're now stuck in this spirit realm and have to now use our 'newly awakened powers' or whatever as the Season Spirits to get home," Merida added. "With the exception of Frost-Face up there who…actually, I donnae completely know what 'e is now." Jack began flashing again and made a few gestures that Mother Nature didn't bother translating.

"The only problem here is that we don't actually know how to fully use our new powers," Rapunzel added. "I mean, I've had a little bit of a practise but I don't exactly know the full extent of them."

"Whatcha got, Goldie?" Merida asked. Rapunzel replied by twirling her newly acquired paintbrush around - a streak of light followed the brush and left a small bunch of flowers in Rapunzel's free hand. "Flower arranging?" Merida snarked. Rapunzel pouted and stamped her foot.

"That's not all!" she protested before shrieking as Merida suddenly vanished up a column of earth, "EEK! Sorry!" she yelped.

"I'm fine!" Merida called before the pillar and Rapunzel's bouquet vanished, sending her crashing down to terra firma again. "So…Earth…?" she grumbled as she rubbed her sore stomach.

"Uh-huh," Rapunzel nodded. "But if that's anything to go by, I am far from being in control of it," she added worriedly.

"Looks like I've got Fire," Hiccup explained, holding his hand out and summoning the sword that Hosten had revealed to him. Flames flickered around the handle and the blade and everyone instinctively backed off…everyone apart from Toothless, at least. Hiccup assumed that dragons were fireproof - it only made sense. "And I don't even want to know what'll happen if I lose control of it," Hiccup added nervously.

"Interesting blade," North commented. Hiccup examined it and shrugged.

"Don't ask me how to use it - I'm not exactly a fencer," he grimaced. North thought for a moment.

"I can teach," he offered. "You talk to greatest swordsman in Moonlight!" he winked. Hiccup said he'd think about it before turning to Merida.

"From wha' tha' Sol girl told me, I've got water," Merida replied. "Most I'd probably be able to do if tha' go' outta hand is to give someone an impromptu shower."

"Or more," Mother Nature pointed out cautiously. "Water's more dynamic than you might think."

"That leaves Jack with the Air element," Tooth noted. "Makes sense, I guess." Jack sighed silently and twirled his spear around for a moment. "Looks like our best port of call for now is to help you three get used to your new abilities," she suggested to Hiccup and the girls.

"Great minds think alike it seems," Rapunzel giggled nervously. Merida and Hiccup shot her a look. "What? The more control we've got over all this, the better chance we have at taking the Baba Yaga down. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get back to our mortal selves."

"She has a point," Pitch agreed. "It is best for this to be resolved as quickly as possible." Sandy suddenly rang a bell on a passing elf ("Those guys are so small!") to get attention before creating a few shapes. Rapunzel squinted and translated.

"What do you think the Baba Yaga's motives are?" she read.

"How is it that you're so good at understanding him?" Bunny asked. Rapunzel shrugged.

"I've always liked art - I guess I'm good at communicating with pictures," she replied. Sandy nodded, confirming that she'd translated correctly. Mother Nature shook her head - like she knew - before glancing at Pitch…her father.

"I can't say for certain," Pitch replied. "It is almost impossible to fully understand the motives of another."

"Well, then, I say we catch 'er in a monologue and take 'er out from there," Merida suggested. "Tha' way we find out why she did all this _and_ we get back to our world in time for Christmas dinner."

"Sweet Tchaikovsky!" North exclaimed. "I'm going to have hands full with preparing gifts and rest of Christmas!" Everyone gave him a sarcastic look - did he really only _just_ realise that?

"It's not a bad idea, Merida," Tooth admitted. "If we can catch her off guard, that will give us the best chance of taking her down."

"It's settled then," Bunny smirked. "We get these ankle biters trained up, track down the witch and boom. Mission accomplished."

Sandy made a few pictures which Rapunzel read closely.

"You'll take me and help with whip-cracking skills?" she quizzed. Sandy nodded eagerly and summoned whips of golden sand to demonstrate. "Wow…thanks," Rapunzel smiled.

"I'll help ya with some of your Earth stuff," Bunny offered.

"As I said, I will be more than happy to help this young man with his swordsmanship," North smiled, indicating Hiccup. "I'll also help with that saddle for your dragon," he added. Hiccup grinned with relief.

"Thanks," he exhaled. "That's be a great help."

"I can help out with any target practise you lot may need," Pitch offered. "I've still got a fair few rouge Nightmares even I'd appreciate being taken care of."

"No one's going anywhere near your Lair after the stunt you pulled with Jack last year!" Tooth growled.

"I never said I'd take them there - I'm perfectly happy to set up a range outside, _Your Majesty_ ," Pitch snarled back.

"I'll take the offer!" Merida cut in before the argument escalated. "Imma good shot with a bow and I'd prefer to keep i' tha' way."

"Uh, same here," Hiccup added. "With Toothless plus on my own - I need to make sure I can control fire projectiles as the very least."

"Your dragon's a Night Fury, is he not?" Pitch noted. Hiccup frowned in slight confusion and asked how he knew. "We've been around for a long time, boy. We know a lot of things. Regardless, do not doubt his firing abilities. Night Furies are known for their accuracy so you needn't worry about him missing a target that often."

"Oh," Hiccup blinked, glancing at Toothless who snorted proudly. "That's…comforting, I guess."

"I can help out with flying, if you'd like," Tooth offered. Jack waved his arm around as if to say that he'd be happy to help as well.

"You, I'm fine with," Hiccup replied, indicating Tooth. "Jack, I'd be worried about having as a flight instructor," he added sarcastically. Jack made a mockingly offended gesture. "Hey, last time I trusted you with the keyboard at home, I ended up having to rewire the damn thing!"

Jack crossed his arms and huffed silently - Hiccup took that to mean either _'_ _That was different'_ , _'_ _That was one time'_ or _'_ _Ye of so little faith'_. One of the three.

"I'll see what I can do with helping you all with your elemental powers," Mother Nature stepped in. "You all have powerful Centres and powerful abilities that come with…"

"Hold the phone! 'Centres'?" Merida interrupted.

"The source of our power, apparently," Hiccup explained, remembering what Hosten had told him. "We've got two - a Natural Centre and a Guardian Centre. Mine are Change and Knowledge respectively." Well, that might explain how he knew about the 'extra guest' being Pitch.

"So…what are mine and Merida's?" Rapunzel asked.

"You, Life and Creativity," Mother Nature replied. Rapunzel shrugged - she loved art, so the Creativity thing made sense. "Merida: Prosperity and Courage." Pitch winced. "Oh, just because yours is Fear!"

"I have every right to worry, thank you very much, _dear_ ," Pitch huffed ("Poet and he doesn't know it," Rapunzel mumbled in an undertone).

"I want you on my team when it comes to a fight," Tooth muttered to Merida.

" _If_ ," Merida corrected in an undertone. If these people were her best chance at getting her life back, she wanted to avoid conflicts within the team as much as possible.

"Moving away from the fact that half of the people in this room obviously want to kill me, how about we actually organise a training schedule?" Pitch suggested sharply, casting a look at the Guardians of Childhood who shot glares at him. Jack tapped his spear in his hand a couple of times and Bunny twirled his boomerangs around, whilst Tooth and North stood (or hovered, in Tooth's case) with their arms crossed and Sandy still had his sand-whips at the ready.

"Yes, Father," Mother Nature huffed, shooting a pointed glare at the Guardians of Childhood. "I think that course of action is most _certainly_ the best one for us to take right now." You really could tell this woman was normally a neutral spirit.

"I'm good for starting as soon as possible," Hiccup called, with an awkward grimace on his face. The tension between the Guardians of Childhood and Pitch was so sharp it could have sliced the air into shreds. They evidently held a strong dislike for him but at the same time, they knew that they needed him in order to get the Baba Yaga back under the control of the Shadows. This alliance was definitely a reluctant one.

"Second that!" Rapunzel added.

"Third," Merida agreed.

"Hiccup - you and Toothless come with me," North instructed. "We'll get that saddle fixed as number one priority."

Hiccup patted Toothless' back to let him know they were on the move and looked more than happy to get out of the Area of High Tension. As they began to head into the main hub of the North Pole, Hiccup caught one last glimpse of Tooth glaring at Pitch and heard her say one final thing:

"I'm still glad I punched you."

"There's really not much love lost between you guys and that Pitch person, is there?" Hiccup noted as he and Toothless followed North around the Pole.

"He tried to destroy us last year," North explained with a look of dark remembrance in his eyes. "You cannot blame for not liking."

"No, no, that's…perfectly reasonable," Hiccup supposed. To be honest, if someone had done something of that kind of magnitude to _him_ , he'd be pretty reluctant to team up with them regardless of the circumstances himself. "Can't believe Mother Nature's his _daughter_ …"

"Pitch was not always King of Shadows," North explained sadly. "He was once great warrior, under service of Man in Moon and family." Hiccup asked how. "His name was Kozmotis Pitchiner. He was Hero of Golden Age…before Fearlings."

"Early forms of Nightmares?" Hiccup guessed. North nodded.

"He guarded prison where Fearlings were kept. One day, they tricked him into releasing them. They overpower…you see what the man has become."

"That's horrible," Hiccup muttered. "Do you think the man he was is still there somewhere?"

"Who can say?" North sighed. "If he is, he has not shown. Maybe now will be chance." Hiccup smiled hopefully - by the sound of things, Pitch had once been a great and well-respected man. Perhaps now, in helping them, he'd have a chance to be that man again.

"So what's Mother Nature's story?" he asked.

"She was sent into cosmos in Moon Ship as child, landed here on Earth and, well, rest is, as you say, history," North summed up quickly. "Her mother sacrificed life to save her from Fearlings." Hiccup shuddered. "Normally, she is neutral spirit."

"She mentioned that," Hiccup remembered. "Because she's so powerful, right?" North nodded. "But, wait, if she fell to Earth after this…Golden Age, if I'm guessing correctly, how is it that we're…as in, Merida, Rapunzel, Jack and myself…her Aides?" Hiccup frowned. "Apparently the Season Spirits have been around for millennia; I think it's been mentioned somewhere that Pitch's height of power was during the Dark Ages which when you think about how old the Earth actually is, wasn't _that_ long ago; Jack was supposedly in the service of the Man in the Moon's family as Nightlight and fought Pitch _after_ he became the Boogeyman which suggests he was around _long before_ Emily-Jane fell to Earth and became Mother Nature…"

"I can see why your Centre is Knowledge!" North chuckled. Toothless had whacked Hiccup on the head once he'd begun to ramble too much - in response, Hiccup grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I do not know for certain, but is possible that origin of Mother Nature's power comes from Earth itself. She acts as conduit for power, is likely."

"Gaia…" Hiccup muttered in realisation. So the myths of the Mother of the Greek Gods (Terra in Roman mythology) and Titans…the Great Mother of Life on Earth and the Universe…they held truth? To be honest, Hiccup was starting to wonder how much of the mythology he'd read about growing up was actually true…it seemed likely that much of it was.

Hiccup was snapped out of his musings as North directed him and Toothless to a smaller workshop, away from the main hub of the North Pole where large, furry creatures which Hiccup discovered were, in fact, Yetis were busy making toys of all kinds ("I always thought _elves_ made the toys!"). It was by some miracle in itself that Toothless, now having somehow doubled in size from when Hiccup had first seen him in the Cove, managed to squeeze in through the door but luckily the room itself was just big enough to fit him, provided his didn't stretch his wings out too far.

"Is where I make and repair harnesses for reindeer," North explained as Hiccup admired the leather and tools around the place. "Pretty sure saddle for Toothless will not be too much issue."

"Thanks for the help," Hiccup smiled gratefully. Toothless also snorted in thanks as well and scratched at his current set. Clearly, the disuse and state of his current saddle was bothering him. Hiccup took the cue to remove the current gear that Toothless was wearing, down to the tattered leather tail-fin. "Jeez, bud - how long have you been wearing this stuff?!"

Toothless grunted and sneezed in Hiccup's face in response.

"Hey! I didn't even know you guys actually existed until five hours ago!" Hiccup protested. "Don't get snappy at me for not knowing where you were…"

"He is interesting creature," North noted. Hiccup asked how so. "He seems to be able to cross over realms. He is not full spirit, but not fully part of mortal realm."

"He told me the dragons went into something called a Dragon Coma and have been that way for centuries," Hiccup explained with a sad wince to his voice. "Their body systems pretty much shut down but they're somehow…somewhat…still alive."

"You understand him?" North quizzed, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. Hiccup nodded.

"Somehow I know what he's saying…it's weird," he admitted. "But cool at the same time," he chuckled when Toothless poked his back with his wing. North chuckled warmly and began looking at the old saddle.

"Remarkable," he noted. "Very complex for something built in Viking era." Hiccup made an impressed face - ahead of his time, huh? "I think we should be able to make something suitable."

Toothless grinned with a toothless smile and nuzzled Hiccup happily. Hiccup caught _'_ _Yay! I can't wait to fly again! It's going to be amazing! You're going to love it!'_.

"Sure, buddy…sure…" Hiccup mumbled in reply. Very nervously.

* * *

Merida suddenly wished that she had her ski stuff with her. As promised, Pitch had set up a target practise range outside, where he could be monitored by the other Guardians, but the downside was that it was in the middle of the freaking Arctic!

"I'd better no' get frostbite doin' this…" Merida grumbled as she pulled her hair as tightly around her cheeks as possible to stop it from blowing away. Pitch examined his nails briefly.

"Are you really that cold?" he asked with a dry politeness. "I find it a mere chill, personally."

"Maybe you're used to it, but I'm definitely not!" Merida huffed. Pitch looked genuinely thoughtful for a moment.

"Perhaps it's something to do with your ties to Summer," he guessed. "It would make sense to me that cold didn't agree with you if that was the case."

"I'm Scottish!" Merida protested. "I'm used to cold! Just not…this cold."

"Bit of exercise should warm you up," Pitch shrugged. "How good are you with a bow?"

"National Under 18 Champion for Scotland, ranked in the Top Ten for the UK," Merida began listing. "And workin' towards International Level. Why?"

"Just wanted to get an idea of your skill, that's all," Pitch replied. Still shivering, partly from the cold and also from the constant sense of dread that seemed to surround Pitch, Merida frowned.

"Ya know…you're actually quite civil now I've 'ad a chance to talk to ya," she noted.

"You think so?" Pitch questioned, with a dry tone to his voice.

"I mean, yeah, I'll admit I'm a little scared with you around - those 'orses donnae help in th' slightest," Merida shrugged. "But somethin' tells me you can be a lot scarier when you put your mind to it."

"Oh, you have _no_ idea," Pitch half-snarled. The few Nightmares he had at his side bristled so Pitch quickly shushed them.

"Just tha' right now, I'm talkin' to you just fine," Merida continued. "I donnae know if it's something about my Centre being Courage and that counteracts your Fear or whatever but…you seem fine to me. In this situation at least," she said quickly.

"Well, that's not a remark I hear often," Pitch noted. "But it's not one that the Guardians would agree with."

"Because of what 'appened two Easters ago?" Merida sighed dryly.

"That and more," Pitch huffed. "We've been at odds with each other since the end of the Dark Ages. Th belief people had in me then…before the _Guardians of Childhood_ shone candles of light scattering _my_ darkness!

"Well, in my opinion, you cannae have one without the other, really," Merida pointed out. "Light's gonna cast shadows and you cannae know darkness without having first been in the light." Pitch softened slightly.

"You mean to say that they are two sides to the same coin?"

"Tha's exactly what I'm sayin'. You lot coexist side by side - I cannae see why you cannae find some way to at least tolerate each other."

"Try getting _that_ through their thick skulls," Pitch huffed. "As you saw for yourself - I'm not exactly popular in the Realm of Moonlight right now."

"Hey, sometimes a bit of Fear's a good thing," Merida smiled lightly. "Teaches kids a bit of common sense - the courage is there to take risks, then fear helps them evaluate those risks."

"You speak very encouragingly to a man who you were taught in your childhood not to believe in because you were scared of him," Pitch half-growled.

"What'd I just say about coin sides?" Merida pointed out. "Light and dark…it's the same with Courage and Fear. If the Guardians are right, then we should be arch enemies, right? Well, I'm chatting to ya just fine, like I said. I'm no' askin' you lot to become the best o' friends or anything', but perhaps if they see that _we_ can be civil with each other, maybe _they_ can also be a bit more civil to _you_."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Pitch said with a thin smirk. "But I'm afraid you're wasting your breath. I have a lot of history with those Guardians and it'll take more than the word of a half-spirit red-head to change their minds about me." Merida cried out in frustration.

"Oh, my GOD! I was just tryin' to help!" she snapped angrily, slamming her foot on the snowy ground before… "WHOA!" she shrieked as suddenly, the firm, tightly packed snow beneath her feet gave way to a deep pool of steaming water. Even Pitch yelped in shock when the red-head suddenly vanished.

"Merida?" he called cautiously. Moments later, Merida's head reappeared above the snow, hair wet and sticking to her face but she herself looked rather happy.

"Ooh! Tha's so warm!" she smiled gleefully. "Tha's better…"

"Interesting," Pitch noted. Merida raised an eyebrow. "Controlling the temperature of water…that's quite something. Although your temper might have triggered that…got a bit _overheated_ I'd say."

"Ha-ha. Never thought the Boogeyman would 'ave a sense of humour," Merida drooled sarcastically. "An' somehow water temperature control also involved meltin' snow…" she shrugged - snow was basically frozen water so she could see why it was also reacting to her. Oh, the fun she was going to have with Frost-Face later. "Do I 'ave to get out?" she moaned. "It's warm in here."

"You will if you want to prove those archery skills of yours," Pitch replied snappishly. Sighing in resignation and out of sheer pride, Merida pulled herself out of the small pool - luckily the snow around it was still compacted enough to provide a solid platform. She instantly started shivering once she was out. "But first things first, see if you can actually control that temperature thing."

"Ya exp-p-p-pect me t-t-to d-d-do tha' right off-f-f-f th-th-the bat?" Merida asked, her teeth chattering.

"As Emily-Jane said, water is more dynamic than you might think," Pitch reminded her. "It's crucial that you figure out how to control it." Merida grumbled a little bit before scrunching her eyes up in concentration. She seemed to be focusing on the water still clinging to her body - seconds later, the air around her began steaming. "How's that?"

"Little better…doesnae last, though," Merida mumbled. "It's all science-based…the water with more heat's gonna transfer its energy to the cold air around i'."

"I didn't ask for a science lesson but if it's useful to you, then I won't judge," Pitch remarked dryly. Merida scowled at him in response. "Now - get that bow of yours ready and see how many of my Nightmares you can hit."

Grumbling a little more, Merida unslung the bow from her back and, with shaking fingers, removed an arrow from her quiver. Her archery instincts began to kick in and she cast her mind back to archery practise at the range in the dead of winter back in Scotland. Her shivering began to cease and she began to focus on the Nightmares circling her - these were moving targets, a far cry from her stationary ones back at the practise range.

But if her past life could get perfect shots whilst on the back of a galloping horse, she could do this.

 _FWHIP!_

After a few practise rounds.

* * *

Rapunzel rested her arms on the barrier around a large globe in the centre of the North Pole Workshop. The globe was truly a sight to behold, covered with glittering golden lights - some flickering out and others switching on in their place. It was magically beautiful in some way.

"What's the globe for?" she asked. Bunny hopped over and looked at the globe with a fondness in his eyes.

"Each of those little lights is a child who believes," he explains. "Never fails to make me happy to see them blinking like this."

"Has the globe ever gone out completely?" Rapunzel asked nervously. Bunny's ears dropped.

"Once - two Easter's ago," he replied. "That was our situation with Pitch - he rigged things to stop kids believing."

"How'd he pull that off?"

"Fairy-napped all of Tooth's helpers for starters, so no teeth were collected - we were able to tackle that one for a little while," Bunny remembered with a shudder. "Then he broke all of my eggs before they could get to their hiding places for Easter. We were lucky to have Jamie still believing at the end of it all and according to Jack even he was starting to lose faith."

"So he was the last light?" Rapunzel guessed. Bunny simply nodded in reply. "That must have been awful."

"Sure was," Bunny sighed. "We can only hope that it never happens again."

"And if it does?" Rapunzel questioned with a concerned frown. "What happens then?"

"No believers means no magic," Bunny explained. "Magic doesn't exist in the human realm the way it used to but it's belief that keeps it going in our realm."

"Fleur said that it was the Season Spirits…I mean, us who took magic away from the human realm," Rapunzel remembered.

"Yeah, I remember the steps you guys took," Bunny replied. "Haven't seen hair nor tail of a lot of mythological creatures in centuries, those little Wisps have all but disappeared…still see a few little rebels on occasion…and the humans haven't been able to access magic themselves since the early eighteen hundreds."

"Were there others who could use magic? Apart from my past self with my hair's powers," Rapunzel quizzed, tugging at a strand of hair.

"I think one of the last was the Snow Queen," Bunny remembered. "Jack's on good terms with her and her sister - a Spring Nymph - but she was a human like the lot of you as well. Man in the Moon decided to let her magic live on as a spirit - not going to lie, it _is_ rather spectacular." Bunny glanced behind him, making that Jack was occupied with Sandy who was giving him some pointers on communicating through gestures as well as some picture-forming lessons (Jack was trying to create pictures out of the wispy light that his form emitted). "Don't tell the clown I said that. He'd never let me live it down."

"My lips are sealed," Rapunzel promised. Her gaze fell to her hair again. "Still can't believe my hair has healing powers."

"I've never fully understood how that works, you know?" Bunny said curiously. "Mind giving a demo?"

"Well, I guess," Rapunzel shrugged uncertainly. "It's the only thing I know for certain how to do right now."

"How's it work?"

"My hair glows when I sing."

"When you sing?"

"Apparently. It worked a little before," Rapunzel replied in answer to Bunny's questioning tone. "And, weirdly enough, it's a song I've known since I was little. I just…can't remember learning it."

"You alright to give it a go?" Bunny asked. Rapunzel nodded and took a small breath, closing her eyes, to calm herself - this was the first time she'd ever sun the song in full with her new hair…she had no idea what to full expect. Well, here went nothing.

 _Flower, gleam and glow,  
Let you power shine,  
Make the clock reverse,  
Bring back what once was mine._

Rapunzel opened an eye and refrained from yelping in surprise upon seeing her seventy feet of golden blonde hair lighting up like a river of sunlight. Jack, out of curiosity, floated down to ground level and gently touched the glowing hair. Rapunzel had an idea - Fleur had said that the technical power of the hair was regeneration. What if it could restore Jack to his original form? She kept singing.

 _Heal what has been hurt,  
Change the Fates' design,  
Save what has been lost,  
Bring back what once was mine…_

 _What once was mine._

Rapunzel finished the song and the glow died down. Her heart sank when she saw that Jack was still in his wispy-light form, but his appearance was no longer that of a lightly armoured boy holding a spear. He was now wearing his favourite hoodie, this time lightly dusted with frost around the shoulders and cuffs, and brown trousers that stopped short just above his ankles, fraying and also covered in frost. He also carried a staff that resembled a shepherd's crook which shimmered bright blue when he moved it.

"Sorry, Jack," Rapunzel sighed. "For a second I thought it could…"

Jack held up a hand and smiled. His expression read his intended sentence loud and clear, so much so that Rapunzel didn't even need to speak wind in order to understand him.

 _You tried - that's what counts. And thanks for what you did do - I prefer this outfit any day._

"I can hear you…" Rapunzel smiled in amazement. Jack blinked in confusion. "Jack! I can hear you!" Jack punched the air with glee and somersaulted through the air a few times as Rapunzel clapped her hands joyfully. "I mean, you're not speaking - I can tell that - but I can hear what you want to say!"

Jack's smile widened and Rapunzel's own happiness grew. It might not have been what she really wanted, but she at least provided Jack with a new source of communication. Only time would tell if the others would be able to hear him but if they couldn't, at least Rapunzel was able to act as Jack's voice when he needed her to.

It had been a long night for everyone already, but in reality, everything had only just begun for the new Big Four.


	27. Training Commences

_**Training Commences:**_

Emily-Jane was young as spirits go, but Mother Nature was older by far. Every memory held by the Earth and its lifetime stretching billions of years was etched, engrained, into her mind, forever supplying her with the greatest and most feared power in the Spirit Realms. In all honestly, it was a good thing she was neutral.

But now, Mother Nature felt, for the first time in centuries…millennia, even…compelled to fight. For such a long time, she had watched the exchanges between Spirits of Moonlight and Shadow - exchanges that often took the form of conflict - but had never had she ever involved herself with their affairs, knowing that whichever side she chose would have an unfair advantage, and she may not even be selecting the right side. This time, however, spirits that had been tied to the Earth and its ever-changing state were being targeted. This time, Mother Nature had little choice but to intervene.

Why the Four Season Spirits were being targeted by the Baba Yaga, Mother Nature still had no clue. She had the idea that no one could ever truly understand the motives of another, particularly the motives of a madman…or woman, whichever. But motives could be pushed aside - for now, Mother Nature had to focus on helping Rapunzel, Merida, Hiccup and Jack harness the power they needed to get their lives back.

* * *

"Focus, Hiccup!" North grunted as he sent Hiccup flying during sword practise for what felt like the billionth time that morning. "You're not even trying."

"Not all of us are masters with a weapon…" Hiccup grumbled as he picked himself off the floor. The sword he'd summoned within the Cove he'd found in the Seeing Lake was usable enough. It was strong and well-balanced but light enough for Hiccup's less-than-muscular frame to handle. The problem came with Hiccup himself. A graceful dancer, one that rivalled any professional ballerina, Hiccup was proving to be astonishing hopeless at sword-fighting.

"How many times must I tell? Think of it as dance," North repeated, pinching his eyebrows together. Hiccup glared at him dryly in response.

"Last I checked, I didn't do my Grade 8 Ballet exam with a sword in my hand," he pointed out sarcastically.

"Jack had told of your talent," North sighed, leaning on one of his scimitars. Hiccup flushed without thinking. "You are nimble. Agile. Have good balance. All traits of master swordsman."

"I thought we established this!" Hiccup groaned, throwing his own sword, which he'd named Endeavour (why, even he wasn't sure - he just thought the name felt right), to the ground. "I'm a dancer and tech-guy. I'm not a warrior." Toothless cooed softly from the sidelines, his saddle now fixed. Hiccup had yet to go flying with the creature - he wanted to at least try to get a handle with Endeavour first - and needless to say, the Night Fury was getting slightly impatient. "What? Was I one before?" Hiccup asked cynically as he slumped onto a snowdrift. He vanished seconds later with a yelp.

"Guess fire and snow really don't mix!" North chuckled as Toothless dived under the snow to retrieve his friend, now soaking to the bone.

"F-f-f-funny…" Hiccup chattered, scrunching his eyes tight in concentration. The water clinging to him steamed before evaporating into the air - Toothless flung Hiccup onto his back before he could melt anymore snow.

"I see you have figured out one trick," North noted. Hiccup righted himself on Toothless' back and shrugged.

"I don't feel myself getting cold," he explained. "Guess the whole fire thing keeps my core body temperature up," he guessed. "Besides, I needed to figure out something to keep me dry out here."

"Is very good plan - I congratulate," North beamed. Hiccup didn't even raise an eyebrow at the man's fur-lined coat and hat. And there he was, still in his tunic and leather harness. Anyone would think he was cold, but in truth, Hiccup didn't even feel chilly. "Now, back to swordsmanship. _En garde_!" he suddenly cried, charging at Hiccup who barely had time to yelp in shock and duck out of the way of the oncoming attack. As North shouted that he had defensive manoeuvres perfectly fine, Hiccup fumbled about for a second when he remembered he'd dropped his sword.

Spotting it in the snow, Hiccup leapt out of the way of another of North's attacks and grabbed Endeavour off the floor. Spinning around, he nearly cried out in surprise when he blocked the scimitar. Toothless winced at the sound of metal on metal but North looked pleased.

"That's it!" he grinned. "Keep it coming!"

Hiccup didn't have the strength needed to push North away so he used the man's size against him, ducking away and landing a hit on North's back as he stumbled forwards. North recovered and laughed happily.

"There we are! Where was that five minutes ago?" he asked. Hiccup had a small frown on his face as he examined his sword…or rather, the hand that was holding it.

"In my left hand, I guess," he replied.

 _Fine time to forget that you're left handed, Haddock._

* * *

"Again."

"GGRRRAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHH!"

Pitch smoothly stepped out of the way as Merida hurled her bow like a javelin in a direction in which he just so happened to be standing. Everyone was a week or so into training and Merida had yet to hit a single Nightmare. One that was moving, that is - her aim with stationary targets was immaculate. Pitch could see the girl's skill and why she was so good in the human world. But stationary target skills would be useless in her current situation - she needed to have the same level of skill with moving targets.

"Congratulations - that almost hit me," he noted dryly. Merida glared at him, small puddles of boiling snow steaming at her feet.

" _Almost_ isnae good _enough_!" she snapped.

"Good - I got that much into your head at least," Pitch remarked. "You're still thinking of the Nightmares as stationary targets. You're taking far too long to figure out your aim."

"So what d'ja suggest tha' I do?" Merida huffed as she stomped over to retrieve her bow (no way Pitch was going to get it for her). "Just point and shoot?"

"That's _exactly_ what I'm suggesting that you do," Pitch sighed. "Judge where the moving target is heading and shoot in that direction." Merida grumbled a bit more under her breath and tried warming herself up a little more - in the North Pole, however, little happened as the snow kept melting and refreezing without her constant attention. "In other areas of your abilities, how're are your powers progressing?"

"I took a littl' inspiration from tha' cartoon show… _Las' Airbender_ ," Merida shrugged. Pitch's face gave away no reaction. "They use martial arts to control their elements in tha' show. I'm no expert at tha' kinda thing but I've been givin' it a go…in my own way."

"Show me," Pitch demanded. Merida blinked a few times, startled by the sudden question but obliged nonetheless. She held her hand out to the side and closed her eyes in fierce concentration, her fingers outstretched as if she was trying to reach something. The snow a little distance away began to bubble before rising above ground in a crystal clear ribbon of water. Pitch watched carefully as Merida opened her eyes ever so slightly to look at her handiwork thus far.

Time for a little test.

Pitch let out a shrill whistle and a Nightmare began charging from behind. Almost immediately, Merida's reflexes kicked in and she cartwheeled out of the way, using her break-dance moves to shift the water as a weapon - when she finished a step, she flung it forwards where it hit the Nightmare at full force, blasting it into its individual grains of sand. Pitch smirked - _now_ they were getting somewhere. The Nightmares continued charging but this time, Merida was using her dance skills as a way of directing the melted snow water - it was following her hands and feet as she saw fit, carving through the Nightmares like a whip.

Merida culminated by reflexively drawing her bowstring back at the final Nightmare - without pausing to think that she didn't have a physical arrow, she let loose, sending an arrow of water directly between the black-sand horse's eyes.

"Much better," Pitch nodded approvingly. Merida panted slightly - that use of power was not something she was used to, but it was a start. "Now I want the same kind of instinctive action with your arrows."

Merida groaned slightly when she saw a new circle of Nightmares surrounding her. It was a good thing her Centre was Courage otherwise this would have been more than problematic.

* * *

Rapunzel wasn't entirely sure if she was supposed to be causing multiple cracks in the ground whenever she tried whipping a Nightmare into dust and the snow around here wasn't exactly helping as it crumbled and cracked every time she struck. Sandy hovered nearby, helping his pupil out by gently changing her posture as and when needed but he seemed nonetheless impressed with what Rapunzel could already do.

 _Rapunzel silhouette. Whip. Nightmare. Thumbs up._

"You really think so?" Rapunzel panted. Sandy nodded with a cheery smile plastered on his round, golden face. "To be honest, I'm terrified of setting off an earthquake with all these cracks…"

 _Ground splitting. Mother Nature silhouette._

"I know it's Mother Nature job but I'm still tied to Earth," Rapunzel sighed. "You saw me hit Merida with a rock column before."

Sandy grimaced and nodded - that kind of accidental power discharge was potentially very dangerous and the teens knew that. Currently, Mother Nature was helping Hiccup out with his fire and whilst they'd gotten past the point of him accidentally setting unfortunate passing elves and yetis on fire if he missed a target, pained yelps from the poor boy could still be heard from across the Pole.

 _Eye. Merida silhouette. Water droplet. Dancer. Question mark._

"You saw Merida using her dancing to control water?" Rapunzel blinked in surprise. "You reckon it's worth a go?" Sandy shrugged in reply. "I don't know…" Rapunzel winced, looking at her seventy feet of hair. "How am I supposed to dance without tripping over this?" she grumbled. Sandy thought to himself for a moment before sending a stream of golden sand into the air. Rapunzel assumed that was his way of sending messages so she put her focus back into the whip-cracking.

She was as surprised as anyone else to have discovered that she had a natural talent for it and the rogue Nightmares that Pitch had provided for target practise were going down relatively quickly because of it. Her powers were moderately controlled - Rapunzel could summon flowers and other flora with her paintbrush as and when she pleased but mass power usage was proving difficult. She felt slightly jealous of Jack who'd already been able to create a wind so strong it caused a blizzard just off Greenland and that one had been intentional. Everyone had told her that Jack had had three centuries of practise whereas she, Merida and Hiccup had had a week and a half at most.

Rapunzel clenched her jaw and lashed out violently when her mind settled on how much time they'd already spent as spirits. It had been over a week, coming up to two, since the accidents that had left them like this. That was nearly two weeks of everyone back home wondering if they would ever wake up…if they were even alive. It tore Rapunzel apart to think about Eugene and Gothel…how they must be feeling. The feeling was shared by Hiccup and Merida in regards to their friends and family as well.

They wanted to go home so badly.

* * *

Hiccup grunted slightly as he double checked Toothless' saddle for the fifth time that morning. The dragon had finally lost his patience and had practically pulled the boy outside for their first flight together. Tooth was tagging along to help out whilst North had brought the sleigh along in case of emergencies. It was the day before Christmas and normally the reindeer would still be resting up before the busy night but North had agreed to make an exception.

"So, we've gone over the basic controls," Tooth listed. "All the stirrup positions…got your cheat sheet?"

"Right here," Hiccup replied. Toothless snarled sarcastically at the piece of paper Hiccup was holding in his hands and sneezed at it. "That was nearly a thousand years ago!" Hiccup protested. "And that was Viking-Past-Life-Me! There is a significant difference. I'm not gonna get things right off the bat."

Tooth and North chuckled slightly to themselves at the pair's exchange - Hiccup and Toothless had been paired up for about three weeks, give or take a few days, but already they had a startling close relationship. Toothless had evidently missed his rider and Hiccup had quickly warmed to his new companion. Who wouldn't? That Night Fury was an oversized cat with wings and the demeanour of a puppy dog. Even Bunny who wasn't usually a fan of things with sharp teeth had started to have a soft spot for the dragon (sometimes Hiccup would have a few sparring rounds in the Warren during training and Toothless would gently play with the eggs without breaking them so he was in Bunny's good books at the very least). Hiccup swung himself up onto Toothless' back and slotted his feet into the stirrups - the left one made a satisfying click as the metal foot slotted perfectly into place. Toothless grinned his gummy smile and spread his wings eagerly.

"Let's take this slowly, alright, bud?" Hiccup asked nervously. Toothless cooed reassuringly as Tooth and North stood by.

"You gonna be okay just going straight for it?" Tooth asked cautiously. "I mean, you haven't practised much with the controls."

"Eh, how hard can it be?" Hiccup shrugged, a little uncertainly before he patted Toothless on the shoulder. "Okay, then, buddy…get us in the air…"

Tooth could have sworn she saw Toothless snicker before kicking off the ground with a vertical takeoff, spraying snow in all directions as Hiccup shrieked in terror.

"WHOA!"

North couldn't stop laughing as Tooth took off after the dragon and rider duo. It took the man a while to catch up with the sleigh seeing as it took so long for him to regain him composure but by the time he had caught up, Hiccup was lying flat on his stomach on Toothless' back, clinging on for dear life as his eyes filled up most of his face.

"I thought you said you could fly," North teased. Hiccup shot him a terrified glare.

"I said ' _How hard can it be?_ '!" he protested before Toothless chortled a little. "Shaddup…"

* * *

"That's more like it," Pitch complimented as Merida's last arrow spun past his face to hit a Nightmare in the flank.

"Would've been between the eyes if you hadnae been in the way," Merida scoffed dryly.

"You were worried about hitting me?" Pitch raised an eyebrow.

"You're an ally," Merida pointed out as she summoned snakes of water that placed her arrows back into her quiver (lazy? Maybe. Time saving? Heck yes). "I donnae care what the others say. We're gonna need you too if we're gonna take down the Baba Yaga and, Nightmare King or not, I highly doubt you'd be able to function terribly well with an arrow in your eye socket."

"The sentiment is appreciated," Pitch smirked. "I'm not one to dish out compliments but even I will admit when I've noticed improvement."

"The sentiment is appreciated," Merida nodded curtly. "Am I excused now? Cos Em-Jay mentioned she wanted me to try out mi' magic with her and try no' to flood anything."

"It's a miracle you call her that without her throwing a tantrum," Pitch remarked, with the slightest hint of a sad smile. "She hated that nickname, even as a girl…" Merida looked at him curiously. She didn't know Pitch's full story but she felt sorry for him - evidently he missed his family greatly. In a sense, he wasn't unlike her and her friends.

"Well…she's…I think she was with Rapunzel last I 'eard," Merida muttered. "I'd better get goin' before Blondie steals mi' practise slot."

"If you see Jack on your way there, tell him he's late…again," Pitch huffed. "I've still got plenty of rogue sand-horses here that need to be literally put on ice and I don't ask Guardians of all people for help."

"Gotcha!" Merida nodded as she began yelling into the wind, which had just started to pick up. "OI! SNOW MIME!"

The reply Merida got was having an entire mound of snow blown onto her from behind, knocking her forwards and burying her for a solid minute before Jack showed to clear things up.

* * *

Rapunzel wobbled slightly on her glowing board of light as she hovered a few feet above the ground. She'd been thinking that she needed some form of fast travel and shooting star had been the first thing that had come to mind. Sandy had approved although Jack was the one doing the majority of the flying lessons here, and luckily, thanks to Rapunzel's previous Healing Incantation (Mother Nature had found the actual name of the song in one of her old tomes), she could hear what he wanted to say, regardless of his gestures and body language.

 _You ever been skateboarding or snowboarding at all, Rapunzel?_

"What makes you think I've ever done anything like that?" Rapunzel responded to Jack's silent question. The wispy-light-boy shrugged, sticking his hands in his hoodie pocket.

 _I don't know. Just thinking you might want to pick something you're more used to for fast travel._

"You fly!" Rapunzel pointed out. "Judging by the time period you're from, I hardly call that being 'something you're used to'."

 _Touché, Blondie._

"And don't call me that! Just because I am blonde now…" Rapunzel pouted.

 _That you are._

"I'm not a _real_ blonde!" Rapunzel protested with a smirk. "Now help me out with this."

Jack spent the next ten minutes helping Rapunzel out with her balance (her stubbornness had raised its head as she refused to change from the shooting-star idea) before Rapunzel had gained the confidence to start gliding across the room. She made sure not to try anything too daring for fear of disrupting the Yetis hard at work with last minute preparations for Christmas Eve that night, but she still tumbled a good few times, her hair somehow acting with a mind of its own and undoing itself from the braid Tooth's mini-fairies had plaited it into to catch onto anything that would stop Rapunzel from becoming best friends with the floor.

Needless to say, she was actually grateful for it. The tangled part…not so much.

A screech from the window alerted Jack and Rapunzel to a still-struggling-to-stay-in-his-saddle Hiccup outside. Jack couldn't help but silently chortle.

 _Poor guy…_

"Yes, 'poor guy'!" Rapunzel reprimanded, although she couldn't help but smirk either. "This is the fifth flight this afternoon and he's been at it for three days now."

 _Come on! He's screaming less than he was. And crashing a lot less - he actually did a lap around the building without destroying any of my snowmen earlier._

"Maybe, but it's still got to be pretty scary."

 _Guess so. Though I don't think Toothless is going to be the kind of dragon to just let him fall._

"You and me both," Rapunzel smiled slightly, tucking her hair behind her ear momentarily. "I just hope he gets the hang of it. Hiccup's got a pretty good hand on his fire and sword fighting now but something tells me we can take out the Baba Yaga a lot faster with a dragon on our side."

 _Not that fire and ice mix, but he'll help, I suppose._

"Quit being bitter that a dragon's taking your attention."

 _It's a freaking fire-breathing lizard!_

"Correction. A _freaking adorable_ fire-breathing scaly cat with wings."

 _I hate you, you know that?_

"We're best friends. We say that to each other."

Rapunzel began drawing herself another star, mumbling something about practise but Jack was hardly listening - her last sentence had made his heart soar for a second.

Best friends. That they were.

And Jack counted himself so lucky to have them.

* * *

 **Posting this a day earlier than I would normally** **(if I stuck the schedule)** **because there is no way I'm going to get time to even try posting anything tomorrow.**


	28. New Year and Power Unlocked

_**New Year and Power Unlocked:**_

Normally, in the week following the massive rush at Christmas, North would have been taking the opportunity to give himself and everyone else at the Pole a well earned break over the New Year. This year, however, the peace was not so easily kept.

For a start, nearly _every_ Guardian of Childhood and then some had made the North Pole their headquarters whilst Jack, Hiccup, Rapunzel and Merida were going through training; not to mention Pitch Black kept dropping by due to aforementioned training; and the trainees in question were starting to get restless.

Actually, scrap 'starting' - they were beyond restless by now.

"Oh. My. GOD!" Merida cried in exasperation for the tenth time that New Year's Eve. " _When_ are we gonna head back to Burgess and kick some witch behind, already?!"

"Merida, we can't make any moves until we are sure you have your abilities under control," Mother Nature sighed as she stood with her arms crossed by the Globe. Bunny stood nearby, scribbling some egg designs on some parchment. Tooth fluttered by the window, reciting instructions to her fairies whilst North was slumped in an armchair with his head in his hands.

"We don't have _time_ to be absolutely sure of that!" Hiccup argued. Toothless grunted in agreement. Over the last few weeks, the pair had been working on their flying and it had certainly improved although Hiccup could tell that Toothless wanted to push their abilities even further. He'd held the dragon back, though. He wasn't sure if he was ready to be that reckless yet.

"Hiccup's right," Rapunzel agreed. "We don't know how much longer our physical selves are going to last…"

"OH!" Tooth exclaimed. "Sorry, this may seem a bad time but I did get news in from Burgess from Baby Tooth - your physical bodies have been put on life support at the hospital…" she grimaced.

"And how long's tha' gonna last?!" Merida snapped. Tooth stayed silent but Merida had made her point clear. Jack nodded from his perch above the fireplace. Rapunzel looked at him as he made a few gestures before turning to the rest of the group.

"Jack's saying if we've been put on life support, our time to get back is probably more limited than we thought," she winced. It turned out that only Rapunzel could 'hear' Jack but the others were learning to understand his gestures and body language more, although Rapunzel and Mother Nature still did the majority of the translations.

"If we're gonna take out the Baba Yaga, we need to take her out sooner rather than later," Hiccup pointed out.

"They all have point," North shrugged from his chair. Sandy nodded with a worried grimace.

"Hate to say it, but they're right," Bunny agreed. "We've all had centuries to perfect our powers. There's no way these guys are gonna pull that kind of thing together in a manner of weeks."

"It's far too risky for the world around us," Mother Nature retaliated. "You four know the balance of ma…"

"We _used_ to," Hiccup pointed out. "New memories, need we remind you?"

"Besides, the balance of magic is kinda the last thing on our minds for now," Merida huffed. "What's the big deal?"

"Magic no longer exists in the mortal realm," Mother Nature reminded them. "You four lose control of your powers for even a second and the humans could notice. That puts us all in danger."

"Emily's right," Pitch cut in. "Our powers work on belief but yours are tied to nature." Jack made a few gestures in his direction. "Jack, even if children could not see you, they still saw the effects of your magic, did they not?" Jack scowled at him but he guessed the man had a point. "Unlike most of us in the Spirit Realms, your powers do not need belief to be seen. You have to know how much to use them…"

"Och! Scrap all of tha'!" Merida snapped. "We want to go home, already! We donnae have _time_ for this!"

"I'm with DunBroch," Hiccup said firmly.

"Same here," Rapunzel nodded. Jack crossed his arms and scowled defiantly at Mother Nature and Pitch before shooting a glare at the other Guardians.

"I'm siding with the firecracker," Bunny grimaced ("OI!").

"I agree," North muttered. Tooth and Sandy seconded the notions. Mother Nature groaned - she was outnumbered in this but she still wasn't willing to take the risk…

"Kids…please…" she begged but Pitch had already seen that the cause was lost.

"Fine - I'll consider it when all four of you score perfect rounds at target practise," he offered.

The response was instantaneous. Merida fired an arrow over her shoulder, without even looking, as a stray Nightmare poked its head over a ledge; Rapunzel slammed her frying pan into another Nightmare's face, again without looking; whilst Hiccup snapped his fingers, setting another Nightmare alight as Toothless swatted another with his tail; and Jack, also without looking, walloped a Nightmare creeping up beside him with his staff.

The other spirits could only stare in amazement and cringe at the dry glares being given off by the teens.

"…Okay, maybe we've got a shot," Mother Nature admitted. Pitch still looked mildly unconvinced.

"Perhaps," he murmured before his eyes rested on Toothless who growled slightly under his cold gaze, ears twitching warningly as if recalling a bad memory. Pitch then glanced at Rapunzel. "I hear you two have been practising flying?"

"Huh?" Rapunzel blinked a couple of times. "Uh…yes?"

"The dragon's kind of a giveaway," Hiccup shot back dryly.

"Give us a demonstration," he instructed. "If you're as competent with your modes of travel as you are with your powers at this stage, then we'll track down the Baba Yaga."

Hiccup and Rapunzel shared nervous glances - this had been slightly unexpected. Well, for Hiccup - not so much. Rapunzel - definitely, seeing as 'flying' wasn't exactly part of her prescribed power-set. She'd discovered that she had control over light which came from her brush: it was a similar light to the one her hair gave off when she sang the Healing Incantation and with it, she could create any shape she desired - this included her star-board, as Jack had begun calling it.

"It was an experimental thing…" Rapunzel mumbled.

"Okay, you got a point…" Hiccup muttered. Toothless cooed happily and nudged his friend affectionately. "Alright, alright, alright," Hiccup laughed, scratching the dragon behind the ears. "I'm saddling up."

Jack shot a glance at Rapunzel and shrugged.

"Okay, _fine_!" Rapunzel huffed. She twirled her paint brush around a few times and once the tip had started glowing she drew a quick star shape in front of her - the shape solidified into a brightly shining board of light which Rapunzel gingerly stepped onto as it began to hover.

"I think our course of action is decided," North noted with a slight smile. "Those who do not posses means of flight to the sleigh!" he called. That meant Merida, Mother Nature and Bunny, who already looked sick.

"Oh…strewth…" the Pooka mumbled. "Why does this happen every time?"

"I don't see the problem, Bunnymund," Mother Nature chuckled with a rare playful smile. "Personally I am rather looking forward to this."

"It will be honour, Mother Nature," North bowed deeply.

"Ooh, this oughta be fun!" Merida grinned excitedly. North beamed and pointed out the enthusiasm to Bunny who was still far from convinced. Sandy glared at Pitch, making a gesture that evidently meant ' _I've got my eye on you_ ' which Jack copied whilst Tooth cradled her fist in her other hand. Pitch sighed and took his leave whilst Hiccup and rapunzel shared uneasy looks.

"So? You two coming?" Tooth smiled, now that the tension had left the room.

"Well…I guess," Rapunzel mumbled, shifting her balance so that she began to move. At the same time, Hiccup and Toothless spotted their usual window and carefully flew out into the brisk mid-winter night that covered the North Pole.

* * *

Minutes later, everyone was circling the star-studded sky, keeping a watchful eye on Hiccup and Rapunzel as they put their flying to the test.

"Don't be worried!" Tooth encouraged as Rapunzel wobbled a bit. "Just take it slowly."

Jack rolled his eyes as he smirked in between darting in between the clouds. Rapunzel shot a pout at him.

"We don't care if that's boring, Jack!" she called. "Not all of us have had centuries of experience." Toothless grunted, as if agreeing with Jack's unspoken statement.

"Easy…take it easy, bud," Hiccup gulped, shifting his foot to change the position of Toothless' prosthetic tail-fin. The tail clicked into place, allowing the duo to make a turn. Rapunzel followed suit, making sure her feet remained planted firmly on her board of light which lit up everyone's faces in the near vicinity.

"Looking good so far," North noted from the sleigh.

"You guys are doin' great!" Merida cheered on. Mother Nature observed the proceedings closely.

"Ready to take things up a notch or two?" she suggested. "Pick up the speed a little."

"Go time?" Rapunzel asked Hiccup who shrugged before replying.

"Go time," he nodded, leading Toothless into a nose dive to pick up some speed. Tentatively at first, Rapunzel followed suit - both pulled up a few hundred feet above the ground and began flying at a comfortable speed across the frozen wonderland that was the Arctic, the light from Rapunzel's star-board causing the snow beneath them to sparkle like diamonds.

"It's quite the sight," Pitch remarked almost nostalgically from his floating platform of black sand. "It's been so long since these two graced the skies in this way."

"I never thought I'd see it for myself," Mother Nature breathed in amazement from the sleigh. Everyone remembered how Emily-Jane was the physical embodiment of the Spirit of the Earth, so while she was far younger than the Earth itself, she still retained its memories and powers as if they were her own. These were the first memories she'd formed herself of the Season Spirits.

"Alright!" Hiccup's cry was heard. "It worked!"

"Jack," Tooth grinned. Jack turned to face her, his wispy form glinting with the same playful light that danced in his eyes. "Let's have a little fun with them!" the Tooth Fairy grinned, shooting off after Hiccup and Rapunzel. Jack smirked gleefully and quickly followed suite.

"Och! No fair," Merida grumbled jokingly. "Makes me half-wish I could fly." _I supposed clouds might work…_ she thought to herself in an undertone. She _did_ have water-teleportation abilities after all, and clouds were made of water…

Maybe that was one to try once she'd become a spirit properly. You know, _after_ living her life as a human.

In the meantime, Jack and Tooth had begun playing around with Hiccup and Rapunzel, forcing them to make slightly riskier manoeuvres but nothing that would put them directly in danger. There was laughter from everyone, including Pitch and Mother Nature to everyone's surprise, as they began chasing each other around the clouds.

"Now you're getting it!" Tooth cheered as Hiccup and Toothless spun out of the way of one of Jack's wind gusts. "Don't think about it too much! That's the real key here."

"This is so much fun!" Rapunzel cried joyfully. Hiccup was also enjoying himself more and more as they flew through the endless night, crowing gleefully as Toothless roared in triumph as their flying grew increasingly daring as confidence was built. Jack grinned nearby and punched the air, proud of his friends, whilst Merida hooted from the sleigh.

Mother Nature smiled warmly from her seat in the sleigh as she watched. Away from the strenuous training the four had been taking part in over the last few weeks, it was a refreshing breather to see them laughing…enjoying themselves…like the teenagers they were supposed to be, not the Guardians they had been forced to become…

The laughter did not last.

"ARGH!" Hiccup cried as something smacked into Toothless' underside, sending him spiralling backwards and sending Hiccup falling from the saddle. "WHOA!"

"EEK!" Rapunzel shrieked as a black mass shot past her, barely missing her as she swerved to avoid it, just about keeping her balance.

"Before _anyone_ suggests it, that was _not_ me!" Pitch protested ahead of time as another shadowy mass, barely visible in the starlight, streaked past him - he stuck out a hand and pulled a fist from the shadow.

It was black feathers.

"Never mind tha'!" Merida screeched. "NORTH!"

"I'm on it!" North yelled back as he forced the sleigh into a dive, causing the passengers to hang onto the sides for dear life as they streaked after Hiccup - all the other flying spirits followed suite, nearly perpendicular to the ground beneath.

Meanwhile, Hiccup had summoned Endeavour and was swiping at the mass of black feathers threatening to choke him as he fell - flames danced wildly around the blade, scorching the black feathers and forcing them to retreat, giving Hiccup enough time to spot Toothless who was also tumbling out of the sky because of having no rider to control his tail fin.

"HOLD ON, BUDDY! HANG ON!" Hiccup yelled, his voice cracking from the terror of the situation. He reached desperately for the saddle with his right hand, his left still swinging Endeavour with every ounce of strength he had to keep the feathers at bay. Toothless screeched desperately and tried to edge as close to his rider as he possibly could.

"Hang on, Hiccup! We're coming!" Rapunzel shouted. Tooth suddenly began to slow down - something had caught her eye.

"Wait…" she murmured as she watched Hiccup's hand reach for his dragon. There was something flickering around his palm and wrist…a green light…fleeting and growing in strength the closer the pair grew to each other. Hiccup's fingertips brushed against Toothless' muzzle and momentarily, the green light flared…

That wasn't any old light.

"LOOK OUT!" she cried, pulling everyone nearby back with such force it was a miracle she didn't yank Sandy and Rapunzel's arms out of their sockets. Jack skid to a halt in midair, as did the sleigh and Pitch when they noticed what Tooth had spotted.

In one last movement of desperation, Hiccup flung his hand out towards Toothless, his palm coming directly into contact with the dragon's nose just before a bonfire-like blaze of green fire engulfed them, scattering the remaining black feathers and burning them into ashes.

But what emerged from that fire wasn't a dragon and rider.

The figure that revealed itself once the green flames cleared was human, but there were large, almost bat-like wings extended from between the shoulder blades and Night Fury shaped ears replaced human ones at the side of the person's head.

That person was Hiccup.

Spying additional clumps of black feathers, the dragon-Hiccup raced at them with ferocious force. Not wanting to be left out, Rapunzel grabbed Merida, pulling her onto her star-board and Jack followed suite as they all gave chase, blasting elemental attacks at the masses of black feathers that belonged to the one who'd put them in this situation.

Rapunzel summoned vines from steaks of light which she used alongside her glowing hair as whips; Merida struck whenever she could with her bow, unwilling to waste arrows from this height; Jack struck with an angry determination, as if wanting revenge for his current state; whilst Hiccup ploughed through each mass of feathers he came across, his power astounding everyone.

Mother Nature could only watch in amazement from the sleigh. Where had this been during training?!

Once the surrounding area had been cleared, everyone regrouped whilst green flames flared around Hiccup once more - when they cleared, he was now a separate entity to Toothless whose eyes had filled up most of his head and who was clearly out of breath from whatever ordeal had just happened.

"You four, that was…" Mother Nature stammered.

"That was unbelievable!" Bunny remarked in amazement. Merida wobbled on Rapunzel's star-board so she retreated to the sleigh, casting a stupefied look in Hiccup's direction.

"Hiccup, what in the name of…?" she began but Hiccup interrupted, looking equally bewildered.

"Don't ask me how, because I have no idea," he panted. Jack caught up and rubbed the back of his head, smiling slightly.

"He says you make a good team," Mother Nature translated from 'wind'. "I…I must agree," she admitted.

"What I would like to know is where that all came from," Pitch blinked.

"Wouldn't we all!" Tooth exclaimed. "Hiccup, that was…I don't even know what you did but it was incredible! Scary, but amazing…and the moment you four attacked the feathers together…"

"Those things didn't stand a chance!" Bunny cut in. "Now, we knew Frostbite had some powerful moves but where did yours come from?!"

"I dunno…" Hiccup mumbled in reply. "Just…did what we had to, I guess," he supposed, glancing at the others. Jack shot a pointed look at Mother Nature who smiled with satisfaction.

 _Well? You reckon we can take that witch out now?_

"I'd say we've definitely got a shot."


	29. Back to Burgess

_**Back to Burgess:**_

It might not have been Merida's original plan of 'getting home in time for Christmas dinner' but considering the training the four teens had been put through and the sheer level of power they discovered they already had at their disposal, it was the best that they could do to be back in Burgess the day after the New Year had begun. To say they were grateful for it would be an understatement.

They'd taken Norths portals back to Burgess this time, rather than the tunnels as the travel that way was instantaneous rather than a slightly longer process of actually travelling through the tunnels themselves before popping back above ground. Either way, the experience did shake the newbies to the method of travel, if slightly.

"Whoa…that was weird…" Merida mumbled as she staggered around for a moment, narrowly avoiding a lamppost.

"Dis…orient…ating…" Hiccup muttered dizzily before he fell over Toothless' foot. "WHOA!"

"Well, we're home," Rapunzel noted. "Now let's get tracking down that witch!"

"The forest may be as good a place as any to start looking," Tooth noted as she hovered nearby. "Especially if that's where Jack found her before."

"It may not be the best idea to go there," Pitch warned. "The Baba Yaga is tied to nature in a lot of her folklore."

"Never thought I would say, but Pitch is right," North sighed. He was without the sleigh this time, what with the reindeers still recovering from their busier-than-normal-past-few weeks. "It would be unwise to wonder into her home territory."

"That forest is my stomping grounds too!" Mother Nature snapped.

"Emily-Jane," Pitch cut across firmly, so much like a father scolding a child. "It may be your territory as well as the Baba Yaga's, but leading the Four…" he indicated Jack and the others. "…into there would not be a good move."

"Boogeyman's got a point," Bunny grimaced.

"Yeah, I don't think we need to take anymore damage than we already have," Hiccup agreed dryly. Toothless grunted next to him.

"Whatever 'appens, we've got her outnumbered ten to one!" Merida smirked slyly. Toothless snorted indignantly. "Fine, _eleven_ to one. Either way, this fight's in our favour." Sandy nodded in agreement, his Dreamsand whips uncurling in his hands as Pitch summoned his Nightmare Sand Scythe, Bunny twirled his boomerangs and North kept both hands on his swords. Jack smirked slightly as he looked around the team - despite one reluctant ally plus three completely out-of-their-league-rookie-spirits, he was liking the odds against the Baba Yaga this group had. Sure, the witch was powerful, but against the combined might of the Guardians of Childhood, the Nightmare King, Mother Nature and the Season Spirits (new and unused to their powers as they might be), did she really stand that much of a chance?

Jack was willing to place his bets that no, she wouldn't.

"We'll cover more ground if we split into groups," Tooth suggested. "Going alone would be stupid." Well, at least she got _that_ right. North grabbed a few globes from his coat pockets and gave them out.

"The minute you catch sight, send signal and rest of us will use globe to reunite," he added. Hiccup pocketed one globe, teaming up with Tooth and North; Jack grouped himself with Rapunzel, Sandy and Mother Nature; and Merida joined Pitch and Bunny ("Why the bloody hell do I get paired with the Boogeyman?!" Bunny groaned. "Och, cut tha' out - 'e's' no' _tha'_ bad!" Merida protested). Once the teams were finalised, they split off into various directions, keeping an eye out for anything that suggested 'Baba Yaga'. The main thing: black feathers.

* * *

Now, Jack, wasn't one known for being a vengeful person. Yes, the spirit had been angry before. That was a given. But he'd never actively sought vengeance on those who had done him wrong or had caused him harm…even with Pitch he'd only lashed out at him because the Nightmare King had come to _him_. Now, however, his face, while as bright as the rest of his tipsy form, was dark with a thunderous thirst for revenge, so much that it scared Rapunzel and Sandy slightly.

"You really want to get back at that witch, huh?" Rapunzel muttered nervously. Jack nodded firmly, gripping his staff tightly as he lit up a back alley to investigate.

"I'd be furious of someone reverted me to the essence of my power," Mother Nature admitted. Jack shook his head this time.

 _It's not just that. It's what she did to you guys too!_

"Jack, we're going to fix this together," Rapunzel reassured. Sandy nodded in agreement and made a few shapes out of Dreamsand which Rapunzel translated. "We know you think you failed us but you couldn't help what happened to us - not when she synchronised everything the way she did." Jack silently apologised for being so uptight but he didn't relax.

"I know you're angry, Jack, but I think Burgess would appreciate it if you didn't start up a cyclone," Mother Nature warned. "Your magic may leave temporary marks but those marks will still be noticeable."

Jack nodded in understanding and kept searching. Rapunzel kept a strand of hair clasped in one hand, whilst her frying pan was tucked under her arm and her paintbrush was stuck behind her ear.

* * *

"Might I just say, thank the Moon you've got those little tuckers helping you out," Bunny grumbled, referring to the tiny blue Will o' Wisps that Merida had summoned to help with the search. "All this dark would be giving me the heebie-jeebies otherwise."

"That wouldn't be a remark shot at me by any chance, Rabbit?" Pitch huffed, his scythe still had his side.

"Oi, not all of us are fans of the shadows, Rat-Bag," Bunny growled.

"Och! Would you two just put a sock in it, already?" Merida snapped irritably. "You're one the same side! _And_ …if I 'eard correct from the Pole…Bunny, _you're_ the one who initially asked Pitch about wha' was goin' on!"

"Unfortunately, Merida, that does not mean that we get along," Pitch sighed.

"What he said," Bunny grumbled.

"YOU EVEN AGREE ON THA'!" Merida shrieked in exasperation. "And, before you say i', I know that agreement doesnae equate to getting along but could you at _least_ keep your quips to a minimum?!"

By this time, patches of snow had melted off nearby rooftops and were starting to steam so Pitch and Bunny agreed to cease their arguing. Angry Merida was actually Scary Merida as well and considering no one really knew the full extent of the Season Spirits' power yet, they didn't want to risk getting hit with something stronger than they'd seen already.

* * *

"I still don't understand why Baba Yaga would do such thing as this," North grumbled as they searched through the back alleys of Burgess, Hiccup lighting up Endeavour to provide some light. Tooth and a small team of mini fairies fluttered around crags which were harder to get to with larger wings ("Sorry, Toothless.").

"If by 'this', you're referring to what's happened to us?" Hiccup guessed, sticking as close to his dragon as he could.

"What else would I mean?" North pointed out.

"No spirit has ever overstepped their realm…with the exception of Pitch," Tooth pointed out. "But he's the King of Shadows and even he didn't try to directly intervene with the mortal realm."

"You're saying what he did two Easters ago was still within the boundaries of the Spirit Realms?" Hiccup deduced.

"Indeed - he wanted to be seen, but it was by children - those with strongest belief," North explained. "Once hit eighteen, lose ability to see." Hiccup nodded in understanding.

"And what the Baba Yaga has done…?" he pressed.

"Even though Pitch wanted to spread fear, he'd never intentionally cause physical harm to mortals," Tooth continued. "But the Baba Yaga's actually gone and put you guys on…" she paused and rubbed her arm awkwardly, stuttering a bit so Hiccup finished the sentence for her.

"…on Death's doorstep," he sighed dryly. "That what you wanted to say?"

"Well, I…I…I don't know how else to put it," Tooth mumbled. Toothless cooed next to his rider in assurance - Hiccup scratched behind his ear in reply.

"I can't figure out why, but I've got a theory," he said. North and Tooth gave him their full attention. "What if she specifically wants us for something? Something we couldn't do as humans?"

"Such as?" North pushed. Hiccup placed one hand on his chin in thought.

"You said the Season Spirits were responsible for taking magic out of the human realm?" he remembered, to which North and Tooth nodded in confirmation. "What if she wants us to put it back? What if that's why she'd got us all stuck like this?"

"That wouldn't explain why she's left Jack the way he is," Tooth frowned. "He was already a spirit, after all. But other than that…it works, I suppose."

"It would make sense, but Tooth has point," North agreed. "And if that were case, why not wait until you had returned to Spirit form properly?"

"It was just an idea - theory in progress," Hiccup shrugged.

"How's it you put all of this together, anyway?" Tooth asked.

"I dunno…" Hiccup replied. "It's…it's kinda like a puzzle. I've got all of these tidbits of info sitting around in my brain and I just piece some of them together to see if they fit. And…the weird thing is…I don't feel like my head's gonna explode, even though I'm always picking up new things."

"Such as?" North quizzed.

"The fact that you have a hole in your coat pocket and have yet to get it fixed," Hiccup replied simply. North's eyes flew open as he asked how Hiccup could possibly know that. "You put a globe in your right pocket earlier but there's no bulge there to suggest anything's in it."

The group counted themselves lucky that Hiccup had thought to pick up the extra globe himself whilst North cursed his own forgetfulness.

* * *

The first indication that Rapunzel got that they were getting close to whatever it was that they were finding was when Jack had become increasingly agitated, setting off snow flurries left, right and centre as they reached the high street of Burgess not far from Moonstone Performing Arts Academy. The second indication had been the small flurry of swirling black feathers skimming past her feet almost mockingly before she shrieked, swatting at them with a glowing strand of hair.

"We've got a lead!" she shouted, catching the attention of the others in her group. Mother Nature's face set into an angry glare as she gave Sandy the go-ahead to start sending the signals to the others.

"Let's follow the feathers - they may lead us to her," the Earth Spirit suggested. Jack's pale wispy face was set into a furious scowl as he began scanning the dimly lit streets.

 _If she leads us into the forest, we are not splitting up this time!_

"I heard you the first time!" Mother Nature snapped at Jack's insistent demand. Rapunzel and Sandy were already streaking ahead after the feather trails, golden light streaking after them in their own way: Sandy with his Dreamsand and Rapunzel's hair which seemed to glimmer with a light of its own in the darkness even though she wasn't singing.

Soon enough, the feather trails seemed to come to a halt in the town square where a lone figure stood. Jack recoiled in recognition and anger - he knew that silhouette.

"That her?" Rapunzel hissed. Jack nodded quickly in reply so Sandy rapidly sent a firework of Dreamsand into the sky, glowing golden grains dispersing across the town to deliver the message to the others. It was the signal that caught the attention of the figure - in the dim light, Rapunzel could see that she was, as Jack had described, to be around her mid-to-late forties with long dark hair and steely grey eyes. She wore odd garments, ones that looked like they came from rural Russia or some other similar place, and the black chicken feathers swirled around her feet like a dark stream.

"No greeting?" she noted with a cruel smirk. "That's rather rude of you, wouldn't you say?"

"Baba Yaga," Mother Nature growled. Rapunzel held her frying pan in one hand and kept the other by her hair, ready to use it as a whip if need be.

"Oh, so the great Mother of Earth knows my name," the witch laughed. "I'm flattered," she added with a blank glare.

"Set the Season Spirits back to the way they were and I won't be forced to cause you too much harm," Mother Nature ordered. A portal shimmered nearby and Pitch, Bunny and Merida appeared through it.

"You the Baba Yaga?!" Merida demanded. The witch seemed unfazed.

"Seems ironic that such a firecracker commands water," she commented. Hissing, Merida quickly shot an arrow in her direction, not listening to the brief cries of protest from the others. The shouts were unnecessary as the Baba Yaga used a mass of black feathers dense enough to stop the arrow in its tracks - when the mass cleared, the arrow had vanished, turned into dark ashes. "And there's that infamous temper of yours, I see."

"If you donnae put me and my friends back to normal, I'll show ya…!" Merida began before Bunny hissed at her to shut up. Losing their cool would not be the best course of action for now.

"Wait for the others to show!" he muttered. Pitch stepped in at that moment, a few Nightmares flanking him as he stepped forward.

"What are you doing outside of the Shadows, Baba Yaga? Or indeed in the Human Realm?" he asked calmly.

"Wait, she's in the Human Realm?" Rapunzel muttered.

"Last time I checked, that was not an easy feat to achieve," Pitch continued.

"The King of Shadows," the Baba Yaga scoffed. "You're a fine one to talk about overstepping Realms." Pitch flinched.

"What I did remained within the bounds of the Spirit Realms," he replied sharply. "And well within the boundaries of belief." ("Debatable," Bunny coughed)

"Belief," the Baba Yaga repeated scornfully. "You rely so much on 'belief' - the whole lot of you do."

"With good reason," a heavily accented voice sounded as another portal opened. This time, North, Tooth, Hiccup and Toothless emerged (although Toothless stumbled around a bit). "Magic no longer exists in Human Realm. You know as well as anyone."

"As much as we don't agree with what Pitch did, he still kept within the limits of the Spirit Realms!" Tooth agreed, her feathers ruffling with every syllable.

"And that is _precisely_ what makes all of you vulnerable. Look what happened when you had little to no belief at all!" the Baba Yaga sneered. "Whereas I…I've begun to break those barriers. Yes, I've found a way into the Human Realm, although I cannot stay there for too long at any one time."

"An' a good thing too, if you ask me," Merida snarled. "And if you're so powerful to do tha', reverse what you did to _us_!" she demanded again.

"I…I'm with her!" Rapunzel stammered. Unnoticed by the others, Hiccup stood frozen in confusion with his eyes wide in stupefied horror as he looked at the witch before them. There was no way…was there?

"It takes enough power as it is trying to sustain _myself_ , no thanks to you four!" the Baba Yaga snarled, tentacles of black feathers curling around her and threatening to reach out and snatch any prey that came too close. "And even if I could, why would I want to?"

"Why did you want us in the first place?! That's what I'd like to know!" Rapunzel retaliated, finding her voice. "Is it something to do with magic?!"

"If it is, I donnae exactly know what you think we can do about it!" Merida growled.

"I don't need _you_ to _do anything_ about it," the Baba Yaga shrugged, raising an eyebrow as her thin, teardrop-shaped face filled with dry cruelty.

"Then what in the name of everything sacred do you want them for?!" Bunny demanded.

"A question I'm sure everyone gathered here would like to know the answer to," Pitch agreed. The Baba Yaga cackled lightly for a moment.

"Wouldn't you all like to know!" she commented.

"I suggest you start talking right now unless you want me to ram a tree so far up your…"

" _Emily-Jane_!"

"Don't worry, _Your Majesty_ ," the Baba Yaga smirked mockingly at Pitch. "She's made herself quite clear."

Jack cast a glance at his friends - okay, catch her in a monologue. They may have a shot at this.

"You're not the only one who dreams of the glory the past had, Pitch Black," the Baba Yaga scoffed. "Magic once existed in every realm…magic that allowed those like me to thrive…allowed me more means than I could imagine to gather those who would sustain me."

"Okay, that's gross…" Merida barfed.

"So it _was_ about magic!" Rapunzel mumbled. Their comments were ignored.

"But then the Guardians of the Earth began to sap the world of its true magic piece by piece," the Baba Yaga continued hatefully, her gaze resting on each teen in turn. "The beautiful creatures that once graced the skies, spirits to guide people on Paths of Fate…you even took magic away from the humans that you supposedly love, oh, so much."

"Magic no longer has a place in the Human Realm!" Mother Nature snapped angrily. Well, so much for catching her in a monologue - the whole exposition had gone by and the Guardians had yet to land a single blow on the witch. "Hosten _knew_ the dragons wouldn't survive if they lived alongside Man… Sol understood that humans had to find their…"

"I don't need your explanations!" the Baba Yaga screamed in scorn, tentacles of black feathers striking outwards and tackling many of the other spirits to the floor…and hooking themselves around Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel whilst passing straight through Jack.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Rapunzel shrieked.

"LET US GO!" Merida demanded.

Jack swung his staff, letting out a burst of wind that caused the feathers to disperse long enough for the four to regroup and for Toothless to run over, curling himself protectively around his rider and his friends. The Baba Yaga looked almost hungrily at them.

"What I need is their power," she snarled. Her gaze rested on Hiccup and the girls…speaking of Hiccup, he still hadn't spoke a word. "Their physical selves may be beyond my reach for now, but I can feed later."

"OKAY! Turnin' it up to _eleven_ on the Gross Meter, woman!" Merida exclaimed in disgust. Again, the Baba Yaga ignored her.

"For now…you will give me my full power back," she hissed. " _Your_ power will become mine."

"Havenae you got _enough_ already?!" Merida shouted.

"You've done more than enough damage!" Rapunzel added.

"Did you not hear me before, brats?" the Baba Yaga quizzed darkly. "My power sustains me but it doesn't keep me strong. I can cause…accidents…but while they're dangerous, they're never guaranteed to be fatal."

"They might as well be!" Tooth snapped from the sidelines and drawing the Baba Yaga's attention away from the four teens for a moment.

"But they weren't," the witch growled. "More often than not, whenever I try to catch my meal, something happens which helps them cling to life. True, I get lucky on occasion, but it is not enough. I do not posses the magic I need to make myself seen in the human realm long enough to use my old tactics…"

Jack suddenly cut her off by making a few angry gestures which roughly translated to: _So, wait... were you in the Human or Spirit Realms when I found your house?_

"Idiot," the Baba Yaga spat. "You're a spirit yourself. You can see me regardless of what realm I'm in." She paused in thought for a moment. "Although I was amazed at how easy it was to lure in a Guardian. Old Lunar didn't exactly pick the brightest jewel in the crown, did he?" she snickered.

Jack flashed in offence and made an obscene gesture.

"Frost! There are ladies present!" Pitch protested from the sidelines.

"You tell her, Jack!" Merida cheered.

"Just think - when magic re-enters the human realm, we can be seen by all! Not just children who believe," the Baba Yaga continued, with a dark eagerness glinting in her eyes. "Isn't belief what you all thrive on? If all could see you, your power would increase by ten…no, a hundredfold! Wouldn't you want magic to return to the human realm?"

"Magic. Has. No. Place. There!" Mother Nature repeated, spitting out each syllable as it escaped her lips.

"If that's the case, why do you even bother?" the Baba Yaga huffed dryly. "I'd say I'm doing us all a favour."

"Baba Yaga," Pitch sighed. "As much as I agree with the concept of your idea, Mother Nature is right. Magic does not hold the same place in the human world as it once did. If mortals know too much about it, they will hunt us down. You're doing nothing but bringing about our destruction."

"Ah, well," the Baba Yaga shrugged offhandishly. On the ground, Hiccup was becoming increasingly stressed but as everyone listened to the convoluted, almost nonsensical motives of the Baba Yaga, it went unnoticed. "At least I can have a bit of fun in the process…"

That was when Hiccup finally spoke, but the words that left his mouth were not the ones that anyone was expecting.

"MOM! STOP!"


	30. Temper Flare

_**Temper Flare:**_

"MOM! STOP!" Hiccup yelled, his face scrunching into a desperate plea as tears threatened to leak from his eyes. In response, gasps of horror echoed throughout the town square as eyes flew wide enough to take up half of everyone's faces.

"Huh?!" Rapunzel spluttered.

"Wait…WHAT?!" Merida squeaked.

Jack just began flashing like a light bulb and ringing like an alarm bell again.

In the meantime, the Baba Yaga stared at Hiccup who looked at her almost pleadingly.

"Please…Mom, why are you doing this?" the boy whispered, his voice choked with sobs he refused to release. Rapunzel took a closer look at the Baba Yaga and suddenly realised that she had seen that face before…she'd seen that face in the photograph on Hiccup's mantlepiece back at his house.

That was the face of Valeria 'Valka' Haddock.

"Oh, yes - she was the one who jumped in to save you two years ago, wasn't she?" the witch remembered coldly, paying no heed to the desperate tone of the boy in front of her. Rapunzel felt her blood freeze - this couldn't be Valka…not the woman who had sacrificed herself for her own son…she wouldn't do this…she wouldn't talk to Hiccup in this fashion.

"What have you done to her?!" Hiccup demanded. "Let her go!"

"I'll admit that I was disappointed I didn't get the meal I'd ordered that day," the Baba Yaga sneered. "But she made do."

"Och…and I thought you could stoop no lower!" Merida cried. "Using his mum's face when she's…"

"Mom! I know you're in there!" Hiccup cut across. Merida refrained from facepalming but her jaw still dropped - oh, for the love of Pete!

"If she was, she can't hear you, boy," the Baba Yaga snarled, the tendrils of black feathers curling around her hands once again. "Don't worry. You can join her soon…"

"NOT ON OUR WATCH!" Merida shouted, pushing Hiccup aside and firing an arrow straight towards the Baba Yaga's face, ignoring Hiccup's shouts of protests. The projectile was enough to distract the witch for the briefest of moments but it was all the group of spirits needed to recover and strike back.

It was notable that Mother Nature was holding herself back, waiting until she could get close enough to land a personal blow but never resorting to ranged attacks - probably due to the fact that her powers would be too noticeable and leave too great of a mark and she couldn't risk doing damage to Burgess itself. The Guardians of Childhood and Pitch, on the other hand, were far from holding back, Pitch less so than anyone else. Black sand glittered in between the shields and columns of feathers that the Baba Yaga was using to fight back and Pitch's eyes flashed angrily in the moonlight.

Rapunzel seemed unsure, fighting only to defend herself from the feathers that threatened to pounce on her from all directions. At the same time, Hiccup was trying to fight his way through to stop the others, swinging Endeavour and causing erratic bursts of fire that randomly varied in strength from momentary flickers to miniature bonfires which he would quickly work to calm, although as the brawl continued he was struggling more and more.

Jack had no problem getting up close and personal, his light breaking through the shadowy magic of the Baba Yaga like a soft but powerful nightlight but he could never quite get close enough to land a proper blow. Merida was using all the snow she could around her to her advantage, melting it to form whips of steaming water that pierced the masses of feathers but again, no visible mark was left.

"STOP IT!" Hiccup begged but Pitch had by now had enough of the boys protests.

"Get that boy out of here!" he ordered, looking at Jack and Merida who reluctantly agreed. In Hiccup's current state, he was in no shape to fight. "We'll keep her occupied."

Grunting silently but nonetheless falling back, Jack causes a small cyclone to get some of the infernal feathers out of the way as they kept scratching at everyone's faces like tiny claws whilst Merida swiped a spare globe from North. Hiccup shouted in protest as she and Rapunzel hooked their arms through his and pulled him through a resulting portal (Toothless quickly followed). When the light died down, they found themselves…

"San Fransokyo?!" Rapunzel huffed, nearly toppling over into the bay.

"First place I thought of, okay?!" Merida snapped back.

"Take us back there!" Hiccup demanded. "NOW!"

"YOU, Mister, need to get your head on straight!" Merida argued. "You're getting distracted here and it's not helpin' anyone. Your powers are, by the looks of it, some of the most powerful we've got outta the four of us so we kinda need you to…"

"You think I'm going to use _this_ …" Hiccup retorted, his palms flaring angrily with blazing flames. The others visibly flinched, including Toothless. "…against my own _mother_?!"

"Hiccup," Rapunzel winced. "You told us what happened to Valka," she reminded him. "She…she saved you…but…"

"I know what I said!" Hiccup cut across. "But…if there's _any_ chance of her being in there…I can't hurt her!"

"Argh! Hiccup, you need to wake up!" Merida cried, the water in the San Fransokyo Bay bubbling slightly as her temper began to rise. "Whoever that woman is, she sure as 'eck isnae your mother!"

"If you guys just give me a chance…" Hiccup begged. "I can get through to her!"

Jack stomped his foot childishly and pulled a frustrated face.

"No asked for your opinion, Danny Phantom," Hiccup huffed. Jack took clear offence to the remark and made a few more gestures which Rapunzel translated.

"She's definitely the one who made you like this, Jack?" she asked, indicating her friend's wispy form. Jack nodded but Hiccup still looked unsure.

"Okay, she's not herself," he admitted. "But…she has to be under some kind of spell…she has to be…"

"Hiccup, I know you were close with your mother," Merida sighed. "And I envy tha'! I really do! But you _have_ to focus on _now_! She said so 'erself - she used _Valka_ instead of you when you got away! How do you know she's not just using your mum's face to throw you off?"

"If there…is the slightest chance…" Hiccup whispered, tears choking his throat. Toothless growled with nervous caution nearby but the warning went unheeded by Merida.

"We cannae afford to take tha' chance!" she pointed out. "We have to focus on this. You 'eard Tooth back at the North Pole - we're on life support. We don't have tha' much time before the plugs are pulled…"

"So you're just worried about _us_ getting _our_ lives back?" Hiccup growled, his hand clenching around the hilt of Endeavour which was flickering with green flames. "Getting _normal_ lives back?!"

"I never said that!" Merida protested angrily. Rapunzel flinched away from the argument whilst Jack glared at them both in silent frustration. Hiccup wasn't finished.

"Well, I've got news for you, Frizz-Face," he snarled. "After what we've seen…after what we've _learned_ …we're _never_ going to have a normal life again! Nothing is EVER going to be normal for us again!" Rapunzel gasped quietly as she saw the flames building around the blade of Endeavour.

"Uh…Hiccup…" she mumbled but she went unnoticed as Hiccup continued.

"Even if there's some _other_ kind of magic which can help us forget what's happened…and I'm fairly sure that there is…I _can't_ just work towards getting my life back now that I've…" he trailed off in stammering rage, his eyes burning with the same light as the fire now coating Endeavour. "I _won't_ hurt her!

"This is NOT about getting our normal lives back, Hiccup!" Merida shouted back. Jack and Rapunzel shared a glance - they were suddenly grateful that they couldn't be seen by the human populace otherwise they'd have a job explaining this one. "This is about _you_ getting your damn head on straight and realising that you cannae let something like an _illusion_ distract you like this!"

"I am NOT distracted!" Hiccup yelled in protest. "I'm…"

"Your mother is GONE, Haddock!" Merida interrupted. "ACCEPT THAT!"

"SHE IS _NOT_ GONE!" Hiccup screeched back, the flames coating Endeavour suddenly exploding outwards in a dome of golden green light. Yelping in shock, Merida did the first thing she could think of, which just so happened to be diving into San Fransokyo Bay, whilst Toothless screeched and quickly moved to shield Rapunzel and Jack as Hiccup recoiled from the power release.

Once the flames had cleared, Hiccup's hands shook as he stared at Endeavour before looking at his free palm and then at the surroundings. Tiny flames flickered on papers stuck on the side of shipping containers but the ground was wet enough to leave no lasting damage, aside from a scorch mark where Hiccup was standing. Panting heavily, Hiccup dropped Endeavour where it vanished in a swirl of fire…he knew that it wasn't gone. He knew that he could still summon it…he knew that Endeavour wasn't what had caused that small inferno just now.

It was him.

"…Hiccup…?" Rapunzel squeaked nervously as Toothless deemed it save enough to approach him rider. The dragon nuzzled Hiccup gently, trying to comfort him but the panic in the boy's face was all too clear to see.

"I…I need to go…" Hiccup whispered, jumping onto Toothless' back and taking off into the skies, ignoring Rapunzel's shouts after him.

On the ground, Jack floated above the ground, dumbfounded with horror. He knew that the powers of the Season Spirits were strong…but Hiccup's was almost uncontrollable!

 _I never realised that kind of thing could happen…_

"None of us did," Rapunzel replied to Jack's silent comment. "This is awful…and if that's what happens when _Hiccup_ loses control…"

Jack looked at Rapunzel, knowing what she couldn't say. Who knew what could happen if she or Merida lost control of their powers? If they didn't fix this soon…the entire balance of nature and the world could be put at risk…more of a risk that even Mother Nature would be able to counteract.

A spluttering noise caught the pair's attention - turning their gazes towards the docks, they spotted a bedraggled redhead clambering out of San Fransokyo Bay.

"You okay, Merida?" Rapunzel asked worriedly. Merida shivered but warmed the water up slightly before answering.

"Wh…what 'appened…?" she stuttered. "I…I know I ticked 'im off but…wha' _was_ tha'?!"

"Power too strong for us to manage," Rapunzel realised. "I don't know why but I think we've got less of a handle on our powers than we thought we did."

"We've got to work fast," Merida decided. "Let's track down Hiccup…I need to say sorry at the least…"

"Yes, you do," Rapunzel agreed firmly. "That was tactless."

"Way to rub it in mi' face, Blondie…"

"AND STOP CALLING ME BLONDIE!"

Jack cut across the girls by making a few gestures, which Rapunzel translated: where were they supposed to go? Hiccup had taken off into the darkness, leaving no inkling as to where he was headed.

"Home's as good a place as any to go," Merida suggested.

"If that's the case, he might have gone to Norway," Rapunzel pointed out. "That's where he's from, after all." Jack signed a few things:

 _Should we go there first, then?_

The girls agreed that heading to Norway first might be their best option. It was away from the fighting in Burgess and it was Hiccup's first home before he'd started attending Moonstone. There was a high chance that he would have gone there to calm himself down.

"Question: how are we all going to get there?" Rapunzel asked. "Merida can't fly and it's a long way to Norway…not to mention we don't have any more globes…"

"I've go' this," Merida offered, holding out her hand. "Hold hands," she instructed. Frowning a little, Rapunzel took the hand offered before Merida held her other one out to Jack who flinched slightly.

"He's says 'I'm not holding your hand'," Rapunzel huffed dryly. Merida groaned in frustration and summoned a Wisp which pulled Jack over to her and linked itself between her fingers, despite Jack's silent yelps of protest.

"Hope you donnae mind gettin' wet," Merida muttered. Before Rapunzel and Jack could respond, she began running towards the edge of the dock again. "Jump!"


	31. Regroup

_**Regroup:**_

Hiccup was hardly even paying attention to where he was going as he and Toothless flew across the star-studded skies above an ink black ocean, the young boy burying his head in Toothless' shoulders with frightened tears leaking from his eyes.

What had he done back there?

That power…that was what he was capable of…and it was still yet to be unleashed…

He couldn't control it, and that terrified him.

"Gods…" Hiccup muttered, the plural slipping from his lips before he even realised it. "Toothless, buddy…what do I do? I can't be around anyone if things can get like that!"

" _Hey, you were right to get out of there when you did - you just need time to calm down…_ "

"How can I calm down when I know that I haven't even scratched the surface of how powerful the Autumn Spirit is?!"

" _You've had barely three weeks to start learning your powers!_ "

"Doesn't mean it's not terrifying…" Hiccup mumbled into Toothless' shoulder. The Night Fury cooed comfortingly, twitching an ear in concern. Hiccup wrapped an arm as far around Toothless' neck as his could, grateful for the comfort the dragon provided.

He knew that he should probably loop back to find the others…to apologise for what had happened. In hindsight, he had become far too emotional considering the situation they were faced with…but at the same time, he didn't want to turn away from the possibility that his mother could still be there

"What am I supposed to do, bud?" he muttered again. "What are _any_ of us supposed to do?"

" _There was…something not quite right about the Baba Yaga,_ " Toothless growled back softly in reply. Hiccup sat up slightly to listen. " _It was like you and me…not quite mortal, but not quite spirit._ "

"Is there any chance at all my mom's still…?" Hiccup trailed off. Toothless replied that he didn't know for sure, but the presence he's felt had nonetheless been familiar.

" _She…part of her reminded me of some I knew a long time ago,_ " he grumbled softly. " _Do you want to head back to Burgess?_ "

Hiccup thought for a while - the others would most likely be heading back there, possibly to look for him. Not to mention, the other Guardians and the Baba Yaga were still there as well. For now, Hiccup wanted to stay out of the fight - he needed to gather his thoughts and feelings, and figure out which was more important:

Trying to save his mother, or trying to save himself.

"How fast can you go?"

" _You should know that._ "

Hiccup was about to make a sarcastic retort when he remembered: Guardian of Knowledge. Duh. There had to be something in the vast amount of information available to him and his powers that would provide the answer. Closing his eyes, Hiccup tried to think of how his Centre would serve him here… he opened them again when he felt a warm sensation in his palm.

Flickering in his hand was a yellow flame, not much bigger than one given off by a very small torch or a large candle.

"I thought my fire was green?" Hiccup frowned.

" _I think it was something along to lines of different types of knowledge equals different colour,_ " Toothless explained quickly. " _Don't ask me which one's which. Nine hundred plus years in a dragon coma plays havoc with your memory._ "

"I'll take your word for it," Hiccup retaliated. Tentatively, he brought his other hand to the flickering flame, focusing on the knowledge he needed to find…

The second his fingertips came into contact with the fire, Hiccup's brain was flooded with information. Images of dragons racing past timers and hitting what looked like weathervanes as they lapped around a course of some kind flashed across his vision. He was accessing the speeds of nearly every dragon species he could imagine - nearly all of which he did not yet know the names of. A familiar black shadow streaked in and out of sight - a Night Fury. Then there was more; the same Night Fury leaving a trail of green and blue fire in its wake as its speed increased.

Of course - in the Spirit Realms, rules could be bent. Dismissing the flame, Hiccup calculated where across the ocean they were and discerned that the even the fastest way to Burgess would take until the following morning.

* * *

"Alright, we've searched every inch of this country…somehow in the space of a few hours…" Merida grumbled, rubbing her arms fiercely.

"Somehow I think that's got something to do with your water teleportation skills," Rapunzel muttered back dryly. " _When_ were you planning on telling us about that anyway?"

"Och! You're _still_ 'aving a go at me about tha'?" Merida sagged. "Go' us 'ere in record time, didnae I?"

"Hey, we never said we weren't grateful," Rapunzel defended herself. "It was just a shock, that's all."

Jack hovered nearby, having done multiple rounds of the town they'd ended up in and made a few gestures, pulling a face as he did - Rapunzel translated.

"Still no sign of Hiccup…he has to be back in Burgess," she sighed. "I don't know exactly how far he's travelled with his family but right now, home's the best place I can think of."

"Jack, make a note that we need to create some form of tracker for when we become spirits proper," Merida suggested. Jack nodded in agreement - no one knew when the Season Spirits would be needed again once this whole fiasco was over so, yes: some form of actual tracking device would most definitely come in handy.

"I've been meaning to ask, Jack," Rapunzel cut in. "How did you know to become a part of our lives, anyway?" Jack frowned questioningly.

"Actually, she's got a point," Merida agreed, adjusting her bow on her bag and tugging at her sleeves. "'ow come you were at Moonstone?"

"How'd you know you needed to protect us?" Rapunzel added. Jack glanced upward - this far North, even in the afternoon, the moon was just about visible in the sky. It was pale, but it was there. "The Moon?"

"What's that old rock got to do with it?" Merida asked, raising an eyebrow. Jack began gesturing again so Rapunzel stepped in to translate.

"The Man in the Moon is the Leader of the Guardians and the Protector of the Realm of Moonlight," she said. "He sensed we were in danger and showed Jack images of our faces."

"Cannae your Moon Man tell us where Hiccup is now?" Merida asked bluntly. Jack shrugged and glanced back up at the moon - his eyes narrowed in irritation and he flung his arms out as if to ask ' _Oh, come on…now of all times?_ '. "I'm…guessing tha's a 'no'?" Jack made a few more gestures.

"Not reliable when it comes to relaying info, huh?" Rapunzel winced. Jack nodded and signed a little more. "What?! He never told you why you were Jack Frost for three hundred years?!"

"Change o' plans!" Merida cried. "No' ever asking tha' guy for info if 'e's _tha'_ unreliable!" Jack grimaced and signed a bit more.

"I don't care if he only tells you enough to set you on the right path!" Rapunzel snapped in reply. "That is _awful_!" Jack shrank and nodded sheepishly in agreement - he couldn't argue with that. He'd never exactly been happy with Manny's _modus operandi_ at the best of times.

"I say leave Moon Man for last resort of last resorts," Merida suggested. "Let's get back to Burgess - we've still got an amputee and 'is dragon to track down. Now where was tha' fountain?"

Jack silently groaned - _great. More water teleportation._

He was beginning to prefer North's portals more and more.

* * *

Hiccup could feel his heart in his throat as Toothless clung unseen to the side of the hospital and he peered through the window into the room containing the emergency life support systems. There were three side by side, each linked to an unconscious body: Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel. Hiccup couldn't suppress a shudder when he saw his and the girls' physical, mortal forms. Their injuries alone were horrifying and would leave terrible scars if they ever woke up… Hiccup could barely recognise himself with bandages covering the burns, or Merida in the same situation with her injuries. Rapunzel was almost in a full body cast…her apartment had been thirty five feet above street level.

It would be a miracle if they survived, even if their spirits rejoined their physical bodies.

Hiccup's heart was only wrenched further when he saw the visitors. He recognised Gothel by Rapunzel's side - her black hair looking even more unkempt than usual - but there were two people he didn't recognise: a man and woman who were sitting by Gothel's side, talking to her (Hiccup couldn't make out their conversation through the window) and faces streaked with tears. The woman looked familiar, but Hiccup couldn't place his finger on where he might have seen her before.

By Merida's bedside was her mother, father and brothers. Elinor looked distraught, even now after it having been weeks since the…accidents. A grey streak which Hiccup had always remembered being in her long brown hair whenever he and the others visited Merida's house had nearly turned completely white, whilst Fergus did his best to comfort his wife and the triplets scribbled on pieces of paper, providing their older sister with something to cheer her up when she woke up.

Turning his gaze to his own bedside…to his own life support machine…Hiccup nearly broke into tears when he saw his father, Gobber and Astrid all sitting there. Stoick looked as if he'd been crying into his beard, which was the scruffiest Hiccup had ever seen it, and the bags under his eyes…Hiccup wondered if he'd ever slept since the fire. Astrid sat motionlessly, he face betraying no emotion…but Hiccup knew better. Astrid was a tough girl and not one to let her emotions show that often when she was around others. She was strong, in more ways than one, and afraid to show weakness…

" _Is the blonde girl your mate?_ " Toothless asked softly. Hiccup stammered for a moment in shock.

"I…uh…well, I…she…we…" he blushed furiously. "Sure…I…care for her…a lot…" he admitted.

" _She reminds me of my friend's rider,_ " Toothless noted. Hiccup pressed him. " _She was strong and brave. If you were the tactician, she was the warrior._ "

"Were…we close?"

" _She was to you then what this girl is to you now, I guess. She brought out confidence in you…and you helped her open up._ " The Night Fury paused briefly. " _Though my first meeting with her didn't exactly go down brilliantly…_ "

"What happened?"

" _We kidnapped her and then dumped her in the top of a tree._ "

"WHAT?!"

" _In my defence, that was_ your _idea. I'm the one who then refused to listen to you and flew around like nuts before she said sorry for what she'd done to you._ "

"What do you mean?"

" _Long story. I'll tell you some other time._ "

Hiccup couldn't get how naturally he could talk about his previous life with the creature. Something about the way Toothless explained things…he could accept that it was him that the dragon was talking about, although he could not recollect this things himself. He tore himself away from the window and led Toothless to the next building over before scanning the streets.

"It's way too quiet here…" he muttered. "The Guardians, Mother Nature and Pitch couldn't have just been fighting for one night…"

" _The fight would have been noticeable in daylight,_ " Toothless explained. " _People can't see us but things still get broken and people notice that._ "

"Right - we're only intangible to people," Hiccup huffed sarcastically, remembering when he'd ran into a lamppost the night of the fire despite having phased through every person he'd come across. It was still daylight for now so Hiccup could only guess that the Guardians. Mother Nature and Pitch were regrouping and the Baba Yaga…who looked exactly like his mother…was recuperating. Shaking, Hiccup looked at his left hand again - it was no longer flickering with fire of any colour, but he could still feel Endeavour within his fingertips and the power of Knowledge surging through his veins. His eyes widened in realisation.

"It's not going to stop growing, is it?" he asked. Toothless cooed questioningly. "My Centre…it's Knowledge. And people learn new stuff nearly every day…"

" _It'll become even more powerful?_ " Toothless reiterated.

"I think so…" Hiccup gulped. "Buddy, if things are about to go out of control again, I need you to…I don't know…"

" _Will a tail to the face be okay? Because that's worked on you before,_ " Toothless suggested, his eyes wide with concern.

"Yep - that'll do it," Hiccup nodded. "Gods…the others, too…Jack's Centre is Fun - he's gonna get stronger the more smiles on faces there are… the braver people are feeling, the stronger Merida's gonna get and…the more creatively people think, Rapunzel's powers are gonna grow as well…" His mind began whirring. The whole team's powers could continue to grow without them even realising it. They had no real idea of their strength at all, and most likely never would…

 _Because they kept growing._

"We've got to tell them," Hiccup decided. "They need to know how dangerous it can be…"

"How dangerous what can be?"

"AH!" Hiccup cried, falling off Toothless' back onto the roof at the sound. Toothless himself jumped about three feet in the air, his ears shooting upright and making him look like the black cat out of _Kiki's Delivery Service_ for a second.

"Eek! You alright?!"

It was the girls.

"Don't…sneak up on me like that!" Hiccup squeaked as he tried to regain what dignity he felt he had left, scrambling to his feet…foot at metal leg…whatever. "When did you guys get here?"

Rapunzel looked up at the roof from the ground and squeezed her hair - Hiccup could only assume that about two bucketloads of water dripped out. The same happened with Merida but with her, a lot of the surrounding water was steaming from her no doubt heating it up in an attempt to get warm. Jack still looked decently dry but Hiccup had his suspicions that came from being in his current state.

"About five minutes ago - Merida landed us in the pond," Rapunzel grumbled.

"Closest body o' water I could think of, okay?!" the redhead protested. Hiccup remembered the water teleportation. "We were lookin' for you."

"I was just about to go look for you," Hiccup noted, jumping off the roof with Toothless to meet the others at ground level. "I…sorry for earlier…" he mumbled.

"I'm the one who should be sayin' sorry," Merida winced. "I crossed a line…I…"

"You were right, though," Hiccup admitted. "I just…everything's happening too quickly. I don't know what to do…"

"Neither do any of us, really," Rapunzel sighed. "I mean, if we had more time, no doubt we could think this through properly but…"

"Tha's time we donnae have," Merida finished. Hiccup nodded and shot an apologetical glance at Jack.

"I just visited the hospital…pretty much everyone's there," he explained. "It…we look bad."

"Donnae doubt it," Merida gulped. "But…'ow are we supposed to take out the Baba Yaga if there's a chance she's also your mum?"

"Wait…you're actually considering that?" Hiccup blinked in surprise. "What happened to focusing on what we need to do?"

"Somethin's tellin' me that because we're meant to be Guardians and all tha', we won't be able to hurt someone just because they're in the way of what we need to do," Merida replied. "Somehow…we need to figure out the best way for everyone."

Jack stepped in with a few gestures and other signing that Rapunzel translated.

"You think there's a clue back at the witch's house?" she quizzed. Jack nodded and continued. "She had a mortar with our faces floating around in it, huh?"

"Well, if she keeps track of 'er targets like tha', we might be able to find Valka!" Merida grinned. "'ow's tha' sound, Hiccup?" Hiccup smiled gratefully and gave them his thanks. "Now - what was it tha' you were gonna tell us?"

"Oh, right…" Hiccup nodded. "Our powers. We're never gonna be able to know for sure how strong they can be," he grimaced. The girls asked how so and Jack pulled a confused face. "Each of our Centres are affected by the world around us. As they grow, our powers increase in strength."

"So as people get smarter, more creative, braver and have more fun…you're saying that's going to have a direct impact on us?" Rapunzel guessed.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Hiccup confirmed. "And all this stuff coming into my head…it's all making _this_ …" He summoned a small burst of flame in his hand again. "…more powerful. Meaning I've no idea what'll happen in a fight." Jack made a sideways glance at Toothless and a wordless conversation seemed to happen between them which Hiccup pulled a face at. "You two understand each other?!"

"I'm guessing it's communication on some other kind of level," Merida shrugged. "Besides, you get to talk to your dragon all the time! Almost makes me jealous." Jack seemed to say something to Rapunzel. "Oh, and those two keep havin' their chats as well. I really _do_ feel left out."

"You've got the Wisps, haven't you?"

"They're not exactly great conversationalists..."

"Jack's just saying how if Toothless knocks you out that's a sign things were about to go haywire," Rapunzel noted, ignoring Merida's remark. Hiccup confirmed this. "We should probably head somewhere and figure out what we're gonna do - looks like the others vanished."

"Maybe head back to Jack's place?" Hiccup suggested, looking at his friend who nodded in agreement. The destination was settled.

* * *

"I was hoping you'd be back to normal by now…" Emma mumbled into a mug of hot chocolate as the teens settled down (Toothless was outside standing guard).

"Judging from the ruckus last night, things still haven't been fixed?" Mrs Overland guessed, handing Rapunzel a mug as gazing apologetically at her son who was once again hovering by the kitchen cabinets, looking wistfully at the hot drinks.

"Sorry abou' tha'…" Merida muttered, wiping away a chocolate moustache. "It's been a crazy twenty-four hours."

"I'll say," Hiccup sighed.

"Mother Nature dropped by," Emma said. "She said that you called the Baba Yaga…'Mom'?" she frowned at Hiccup who averted eye contact.

"She's taken my mom's appearance," he explained quickly. "But…I get the feeling she's still there…somewhere."

"That makes things more difficult for you, huh?" Emma winced. Hiccup nodded before Merida explained her theory about their Guardian-hood potentially preventing them from doing harm to someone with ties to the mortal realm. "Definitely harder…"

Jack made a few gestures by the cabinets.

 _I bet you she did this on purpose. If we can't do anything to take her out, we can't defeat her properly and then she gets what she wants._

"Surely there has to be a way! Besides, that's just plain unfair!" Emma protested. Rapunzel blinked in surprise and stared at the girl, as did Jack.

"You can hear him?" she asked. Emma nodded.

"The rest of you can't?" she frowned.

"I can - my hair's magic reverted him back to that appearance and allowed me to hear what he wants to say…for some reason," Rapunzel replied. "Merida and Hiccup can't, though." Emma made a surprised face - strange…

"Do you four know what you're going to do now?" Mrs Overland asked, her eyebrows knitting together in concern. "We heard about your physical selves…I don't think they'll be kept on support for much longer."

Hiccup and the girls visibly flinched.

"We've no idea…" Hiccup muttered. "Even with the training we did with the Guardians we still don't know what we're even capable of."

"What happened?"

"I ticked 'im off…"

"…and then I caused a miniature explosion."

Emma choked on her hot chocolate at that.

"HUH?!" she spluttered once her airways had cleared. "You _still_ can't control it?!"

"Not completely and we've no idea how to get a handle on things before it's too late," Hiccup admitted.

"That's not good…" Mrs Overland frowned. "If you can't get back to your physical forms before…" She trailed off, not wanting to say what everyone knew she meant. "…and you're stuck as spirits…if you can't control your powers that could throw the entire world off balance."

"You mean…even Mother Nature won't be able to counteract us?" Rapunzel squeaked. Jack looked horrified.

"I don't know…but power like yours…" Mrs Overland said worriedly. "If you can't control it…"

"We need to get back before we doom the whole world," Merida grimaced.

A roar from outside interrupted the discussion, causing Hiccup to leap from his seat and race to the window as fast as his prosthetic would allow him - Toothless had yet to roar like that…when he saw the black feathers he knew why.

"It's not even four o'clock…" he muttered in disbelief, although the sky had already begun to darken. "Guys - she's out there!"

"Already?!" Rapunzel yelped. Merida had her face set in determination and had one hand on her bow.

"We have to go for this, guys," she said firmly. "Hiccup - d'ja reckon there's anyway you might be able to figure out for sure if there's somethin' we're missin'?"

"I can try," Hiccup nodded, flames of varying colours beginning to flicker across his palms.

"I'll get the word to the others," Rapunzel decided, twirling her paintbrush around in her fingers. "Merida - you and Jack keep her occupied until the rest of us show up."

 _Gladly._

"We'll help out here," Emma offered.

"Donnae take too long!" Merida shouted over her should and she and Jack raced out the door. "I cannae make any promises on 'ow much damage we'll cause!"

"Try to hold back, please?!"

Merida and Jack only just about heard Hiccup's request before shooting out the front door and pursuing the black feathers down the street.


	32. Doppleganger

_**Doppleganger:**_

Following the feathers through town was the easy part for Merida and Jack - thoroughly tired of being given the slip one way or another, the pair didn't hold back with their own attacks, even combining them to create powerful daggers of ice which froze the feathers in place on contact as well as providing Merida with ice-arrows to shoot with. Thanks to their training with Pitch and the Guardians, practically every single shot met its mark.

"You donnae mess with _these_ Spirits!" Merida cried, using a gust of wind that Jack had created to boost herself up onto a low roof, melting some snow as she did to create a water-whip which she quickly used the slice through a column of feathers. "HA!" Merida crowed with delight. "I got it!"

Excitedly, Merida pulled herself up on top of the garage that the feathers had vanished over, punching the air in delight when she saw the sodden things twitching helplessly on the roof, slowly freezing in the mid-winter night.

"Jack! D'ja see tha'?" Merida called into the night but Jack was off taking care of things by himself. Her confidence boosted, Merida knelt down as picked up a feather to examine it - it shivered at her touch before wilting, magic spent. "Huh…look at these things," the redhead remarked. In her hands, the feather was harmless. Whatever power it had was nothing compared to direct contact with a Season Spirit, it seemed.

"If it isn't the Firecracker," a snide voice noted, causing Merida to jump out of her skin and draw her bow quickly. Surprise, surprise, it was the Baba Yaga. Before now, Merida would have fired the arrow without question but now that she knew that face, she wouldn't bring herself to do it. They _had_ to be sure that Valka was okay.

"Call me tha' one more time an' you're gettin' the Skyrim treatment," Merida snarled.

"But you wouldn't dare now that your friend has his suspicions about his poor mother," the witch smirked cruelly.

"Why donnae you drop her look and face us as yourself, huh?" Merida demanded. "'iding behind the face of another… You're nothin' but a coward."

"Coward, am I?" the Baba Yaga repeated, raising an eyebrow. Those eyes were so cold and cruel…nothing like the warm pools of blue that had been in Hiccup's photograph. "Not all of us have an abundance of Bravery, _Sol_."

Merida was about to make a retort when the wind picked up. Squinting, she lowered her bow when she spotted who was behind her adversary - the Baba Yaga noticed too. Jack was standing…well, still hovering…behind her with his arms crossed and a furious glare on his face. If the situation had been different, Merida might have compared his manner to that of a petulant child.

"Ah!" the Baba Yaga snickered. "Now _there's_ the one I was looking for. You know, losing your physical form as a spirt must be the worst thing to happen to you since the time that no believed in yo…WHOA!" she suddenly shrieked as Jack swung his staff, picking up the wind to such an extent it lifted the woman straight into the air. Merida threw herself to the ground to avoid the impact and winced as her nose narrowly missed the roof of the garage she was on. A leaf fluttered past her eyes and glancing over to the edge of the roof, she spotted the familiar silhouette of Mother Nature.

"Am I interrupting?" the Nature spirit asked, pointing at Jack who was still tossing the Baba Yaga through the air.

"I'd give it a few - Jack's in a bad mood," Merida replied before gathering the courage to stand up again. Soon enough, Jack created a downdraft which caught the Baba Yaga off guard and sent her slamming down to the streets below - Merida winced again as a few car alarms were set off before she joined Jack's side once he'd floated back down to her level.

"Remind me not to get on _your_ bad side, Frostbite," she smirked. "You get anything?" Jack knew what she meant - had he detected the presence of anyone other than the Baba Yaga. He shook his head before glancing at Mother Nature questioningly.

"Hiccup was right to question things before," she whispered. "She's in between, much like you. My guess is that she's using Hiccup's mother as a way to get closer to the human realm." Merida personally wanted to know how the combined power of the Guardians of Childhood, the King of Nightmares _and_ Mother Nature hadn't already done a lot of damage. "She's tough, but we need her alive."

"I'd prefer this if she was an old hag," Merida scoffed as she and Jack went down to ground level, glares set on their faces and weapons drawn warningly as they approached the recovering witch, whose feathers had started swirling around her feet again as she summoned a staff of some kind.

"Alright, alright!" she cried. "I'm sorry! I've gone to far, I'll admit that!"

"You didnae realise that weeks ago?" Merida growled.

"You can't blame me for wanting my power back the way it once was," the Baba Yaga protested breathlessly. "It's hard to let go of something like that, even after centuries."

Mother Nature shivered but not because she was standing next to Jack - true, the boy was causing the wind to blow a little harder than usual but his winter powers were weak in his current state. Yes, he could cause a small flurry or spread a tiny bit of frost but it was nothing compared to what she knew he could do with his physical form.

"Look, it was stupid of me to mess with Jack," the Baba Yaga continued. "So, I'll tell you what…" She paused before her eyes narrowed darkly, an evil sneer spreading across her face. "You can have him back."

The temperature suddenly dropped significantly, causing everyone _including_ Jack to bring their guards up. Snow still lined the tops of walls and roofs but Mother Nature could see a layer of ice forming across the top of the drifts…a grey-black ice that sent more fear through her than her father's Nightmares. Spiked trails of frost began creeping along the wet road where the heat from car engines had melted the ice and snow during the day, as well as up the damp lampposts nearby.

Merida on a hunch glanced up to the roof of a nearby shop and let out a shrill gasp when she saw the source of the dark cold.

It was Jack Frost.

But, at the same time, it wasn't. Jack Frost hovered beside Merida and Mother Nature, stuck as a wispy silhouette of light. This Jack Frost…this one had a solid physical form but it wasn't…Jack.

This Jack seemed darker in every aspect Merida could think of, from his colour palette to the aura he gave off. His skin was not the pale-white that Merida had known her friend to have, but an ugly cold grey that glinted with hard ice fractals. His hair was greyer as well, like snow contaminated with gravel. His hoodie was still dark blue, but frost patterns that branched out like talons and spiderwebs now decorated the shoulders, wrists and hem. In his hand he clasped a staff that resembled a shepherd's crook, but it didn't glimmer with light but rather crackled with dark magic. His eyes, far from the icy-blue that Merida knew Jack to have, were a cold grey; steely and unfeeling.

"They're all yours," the Baba Yaga smirked.

The Other Jack leapt from the rooftop and sent a wave of frost in the direction of Mother Nature, Merida and Jack almost before they had time to react. There was little vegetation in the centre of town so Mother Nature couldn't teleport through trees as much as she otherwise could but Jack luckily thought fast enough to knock her out of the way before the ice could strike, with Merida somersaulting in the other direction.

"Alright, this is just low!" Merida snapped. She knocked an arrow and once again sent it in the Baba Yaga's direction - annoyingly enough, she vanished in a flurry of feathers before it could connect with her ankle. "Dammit!"

"Jack - don't get too close to that Other You!" Mother Nature ordered as Jack took to the skies again. He skid to a halt to listen, a confused glare on his face.

 _That's my body! What else do you expect me to do?!_

"That power surging through him is too dark! You are pure moonlight right now!"

 _So what?_

"The combination of the two would be enough to kill you! That's what!" Mother Nature snapped. "We'll find a way to draw that power out of him! But don't get too…"

 _WATCH OUT!_

It seemed that proximity between Jack and his physical being…Mother Nature decided to refer to it as Puppet Jack…was almost unavoidable. Puppet Jack seemed fixated on doing them harm…and that included to the real Jack Frost.

Merida, having no means of flight, was stuck fighting the feathers on the ground below. She was rapidly running out of arrows so she'd resorted to heating snow enough for it to melt just so that she could have a secondary weapon - knowing what had happened when Hiccup had lost control of his fire, she knew she couldn't afford to let her own famous temper get away with her. With the amount of snow in Burgess right now, she could easily cause a flood given how much her emotions were flaring because of the Baba Yaga.

"'old still for _five seconds_!" she yelled in frustrated fury as attack after attack missed its mark — she was growing increasingly desperate and wasn't paying as much attention to her aim…nor to anything else.

It was only thanks to a timely blast of fire that saved Merida from being swarmed by one of the Baba Yaga's deadly flurries of feathers.

Mother Nature had never been happier to see her father and the other Guardians who were all surging forwards into the conflict — this time, there was no hesitation in Hiccup's eyes, although he still seemed reluctant to fight the Baba Yaga herself. Rapunzel was streaking through the feathers on her board of starlight, leaving vines in her wake to encase the magic and neutralise it. However, there was one more addition to the party that made Mother Nature's blood freeze.

Snowballs were being pelted towards the Baba Yaga — they glowed with the same moonlight that emanated off Jack, but they were being thrown by Emma who was hitching a piggyback ride on Bunny as well as a few lifts from Sandy's cloud of Dreamsand (Mother Nature noted that she was staying well clear of Pitch's Nightmares, though).

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE RING OF FIRE IS EMMA DOING HERE?!" Mother Nature shrieked when she saw the girl.

"She's persuasive," Hiccup shouted back. That was the only reply the Spirit of Nature seemed to be getting. For now she kept her focus on Puppet Jack to see if she could figure out a way of removing him from the battle and get the dark power out of him so that the real Jack could reclaim his body. Puppet Jack's speed and agility, however, matched that of the real Jack Frost (no surprises, honestly) and that outdid that of Mother Nature.

 _TWACK!_

Emma seemed to have things covered with the snowballs, though.

 _I taught her that,_ Jack said smugly. Honestly, Mother Nature could care less. She was still fuming.

The Baba Yaga could see that even with additional help, the fight was not going in her favour. Her magic was powerful, but the Season Spirits had regrouped and the boy with the dragon was no longer as distracted by his mother's face. She knew that throwing them off kilter was the best chance she had at lowering their guard. She recognised the girl throwing snowballs all too well — she'd been the one that had gotten away three centuries ago. Jack would have taken her place had the Moon not intervened.

Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to put something on ice for later.

"Jack — do some hunting, would you?" she shouted. "I wouldn't mind an appetiser, personally."

Jack's eyes widened as Puppet Jack turned his attention to Emma. He blasted a gust of wind in Bunny's direction to get the Pooka's attention, which alerted him to Puppet Jack beginning to aim his attacks at them.

"JEEZ!" Emma shrieked.

"Holy egg shells!" Bunny exclaimed, leaping out of the way of a blast of black frost just before it froze his feet. The attack made him lose focus with throwing his boomerang — in his panic he'd forgotten where he was aiming it and it came squarely into contact with Hiccup's head ("AM I NOT DAMAGED ENOUGH?!").

"Oi! You keep your 'ands off Em!" Merida snapped, aiming an arrow for Puppet Jack and harrowingly missing his heel ("Which would you rather, Frostbite? A broken Achilles' or an arrow in your eye socket?!"). Rapunzel joined the fray and lassoed her hair around Puppet Jack's wrist, catching him off guard as she yanked him down to the ground.

"You're…not…going…anywhere!" she growled, bringing her frying pan out from under her arm and giving Puppet Jack a solid whack to the head — the clang of metal against skull made the real Jack winced and he wondered if a resulting concussion would carrying over once he got his body back. The hit dazed Puppet Jack, but he was still moving and Rapunzel ended up regretting the use of her hair and a lasso very quickly.

Through the Baba Yaga's control, Puppet Jack was still fighting and had frozen Rapunzel's stupidly long hair to the ground, threatening to encase her in a shell of black ice. Not that Rapunzel wasn't fighting back — using her paintbrush and her frying pan side by side, she was creating shields of trees which faded after a time and keeping the puppet at bay with threats of melée attacks but that didn't stop the ice from creeping further up her hair…

There can a searing hissing noise, as well as another thud as a tail rammed into Puppet Jack's side, sending him flying. Hiccup had merged with his dragon (this time intentionally) and his sword was ablaze, melting the ice that was threatening to encase his friend. Although he may have been focusing on protecting his sister, Jack still winced as Hiccup began facing Puppet Jack one on one…fire and ice really did not mix.

 _Please be careful, Haddock…_ he pleaded silently.

"BIT OF HELP UP HERE!" Hiccup shouted as he parried another blow from Puppet Jack. An answer to his plea came in the form of a Nightmare Sand arrow whizzing past the darkened form of the Winter Spirit, distracting him long enough for Pitch's Nightmares to tackle him ( _NOT HELPING!_ Jack screamed quietly — Rapunzel told him to take what he could get). "Thanks, Pitch!"

"Focus on the Baba Yaga!" Pitch commanded. The other Guardians were still fighting through the feathers below. "Take her attention away from Jack!"

"You heard the man! Let's go!" Hiccup shouted to the others. Tooth groaned as her wings sliced through another pillar of black chicken feathers.

"I can't believe we're taking orders from the Boogeyman…" she grumbled.

Emma had found a decent shot from Bunny's back and a snowball came into sharp contact with the Baba Yaga's face, blinding her for a moment. Her attention diverted, the feathers cleared into wisps of black smoke and Puppet Jack faltered from his struggle with the Nightmares.

"You…!" the Baba Yaga growled as she wiped the snow from her eyes. Bunny and Emma had already made a hasty retreat but that didn't stop the Baba Yaga from howling an incantation into the skies, in an ancient language that the Guardians couldn't understand, nor Mother Nature.

As if in answer to the howl, dead leaves buried underneath the wet snow, rotting and skeletal, seemed to replace the feathers — given their nature, they were sharper and flecks broke off to irritate several eyes. Mother Nature let out a roar of anger — nature was _hers_ to command! These leaves had left the living world and had been preparing the earth for its new lease of life in Spring. How _dare_ this witch violate that?!

She cared not if this woman was in between like her Guardians were. She had violated the laws of nature more than enough to rise the fury of the Mother of Earth. Everyone flinched in terror as the trees in the forest outside of town began to creak and the ground began to vibrate.

"EMILY-JANE!" Pitch shouted from the skies, diving downwards to stop her before she unleashed a catastrophe. Hiccup followed suit, not bothering to un-fuse from Toothless seeing as they were faster as a single form.

"Am I allowed to call this an overreaction?!" Hiccup shouted.

"SAVE IT!" Pitch snapped.

In their rush, they forgot about Puppet Jack. Who, in turn, had not forgotten the command he'd been given earlier.

Spying Emma in the confusion below, Puppet Jack unleashed a gust of wind strong enough to blow the leaves apart and separate the girl from Bunny's back. The dead leaves closed around her and the dark puppet had his target singled out.

Hiccup and Pitch didn't even notice until _their_ Jack shot straight past them like an arrow of Moonlight.

"FROST!" Pitch cried. His shout echoed to the ground, now that they were close enough to hear them and it brought Mother Nature out of her rage to realise that Jack was doing exactly what she'd told him not to do ten minutes ago.

"JACK! STOP!" she cried.

Jack didn't hear her as he collided with the dark puppet the Baba Yaga had turned his physical form into.

"JACK!" Emma screeched as the fight on the ground halted. The Guardians of Childhood froze in terror as the Spirit of Winter merged with his darkened physical form, creating a blinding flash of blue white light. Hiccup, losing focus on his flying, crashed into the ground and had to untangle himself from Toothless' wings as he, Merida and Rapunzel could do nothing but stare at their friend in absolute horror as Puppet Jack's form began writing, pain etched into his face as pure Moonlight merged with the darkness of the Baba Yaga's magic.

From the ground, the others could see bursts of moonlight through what looked like cracks along Jack's skin as well as through his eyes and mouth — it was a horrifying sight that they couldn't tear their gazes away from. Jack's staff creaked and began shining brilliantly…painfully…as the light and dark battled for dominance.

Then the ice began to spread. It started from Jack's hand gripped his staff…the conduit of his power…before encasing his arm, chest, legs and face. For a moment, the boy spirit hung suspended in the air — a crystalline statue of sparkling blue ice before it fell from the skies, saved from smashing against the ground by Sandy's cloud of Dreamsand where Emma had clambered onto in a flood of tears.

Hiccup and the girls, seeing the weeping child begging her brother to come back…unwilling to lose him to the ice again…finally snapped out of their horrified stupor. Their gazes turned to the Baba Yaga, whose face was a picture of cruel triumph…

It quickly turned to fear as she saw who it was who was facing her.

Flames had begun billowing at Hiccup's feet and behind his back as he merged with Toothless once again — he was taller, and wore a tunic of autumn colours under leather riding armour, with a cloak billowing between his wings. He wore leg armour on his right leg and his sword had switched from a double-helix to a plaited triple one — in his right hand, he held a shield.

Ribbons of water snaked around Merida's wrists and her hair billowed wildly around her face, held out of her eyes by a simple circlet. Over a split-skirt teal dress, she wore shoulder guards, chest plates and a skirt of armour adorned with a tartan sash, the clasp showing the same seal that made up the tattoo design on her back. On her feet were knee-high armoured boots, and she wore arm guards from her elbows to her wrists.

Rapunzel's dress had become longer, reaching midway down her shins, and more ornate, and like Merida she now wore armour: shoulder guards, chest armour and two golden plates on her hips — the golden armour was decorated with pink gems and bright patterns of the sun. On her head she wore a jewelled tiara, her wrists bore golden bangles, and her feet, while bare, were topped with light armour themselves. Her hair was shorter, but it still swept wildly behind her.

These weren't the teenagers from Moonstone Arts Academy. The Baba Yaga knew that much.

These were Hosten Redleaf, Sol Himmel and Fleur Rampion.

These were the Season Spirits, and they were out for revenge for their friend.

Without hesitation, the three Spirits charged forwards towards the Baba Yaga, anger blazing in their eyes. In a ditch attempt to defend herself, the Baba Yaga re-summoned her feathers, the leaves now long since scattered. The black feathers engulfed the three Spirits and the Guardians of Childhood, Mother Nature and Pitch all cried out in terror.

The black mass of feathers didn't stick around for long — vines split them apart, ribbons of water forced them away and emerald flames consumed them, turning them to ash. The Baba Yaga's expression turned into one of shocked horror as the three Spirits reappeared, combining their elemental magic together into the same blue-white light that Jack had given off…

Moonlight.

The Baba Yaga shielded herself as quickly as she could, feeling the brunt of the attack hit her shield of dark feathers as she was forced away. Moonlight exploded through the area and the witch made a hasty retreat. This was the level of power she was after…but she stood no chance fighting against it for now. She herself was not strong enough, but she knew of a way to make it so.

The black feathers crept back into the forest with their mistress as she slunk back into the shadows, and once the Moonlight cleared, the three Season Spirits collapsed to their knees, exhausted from the usage of power. Their appearances reverted back to those of Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel and it was only then that Tooth, Bunny and North rushed over to help, now certain that it was safe to do so.

"Crikey…are you kids alright?" Bunny asked quickly, his voice full of concern.

"I've never seen power like this…" North remarked as he helped a shaking Merida to her feet.

"How did you even _do_ that?!" Tooth asked, her voice echoing with leftover fear.

"I…I don't know…" Rapunzel whispered fearfully.

"I didn't even know we could…" Hiccup chimed in, leaning on a now-present Toothless who wrapped his wing around his rider protectively.

"It just…'appened…" Merida gulped, shivering. "We saw wha' 'appened to Jack and…and…oh, no! JACK!" she suddenly cried, racing over to where Sandy's Dreamsand cloud had landed — Pitch and Mother Nature had taken the frozen statue of Jack down and Emma would not be moved from it, her arms wrapped around her brother's waist as she wept uncontrollably.

"I told him…I told him… _I told him_ …" Mother Nature whispered angrily to herself over and over again. Pitch looked equally furious…but also almost mournful. Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel pushed their way forward and stopped dead in their tracks.

This was a friend who'd risked everything to protect the one most important to him…he'd risked everything just to save his little sister. It didn't matter that he'd lost his life saving her once. He'd been more than prepared to do it all over again and he had done just that. Hiccup and Rapunzel felt furious with themselves, distraught that they had agreed to let Emma help with the battle. If they hadn't…if they'd persuaded her to stay with her mother…and stay safe…Jack might have…

"Jack…" Emma cried. "Don't go…wake up…please..."

Hiccup held Merida close as she began crying into her chest. Rapunzel leaned in and hugged her friend as well, all three trying to comfort the others but failing to do so. Unable to bear the sight of a girl crying over the brother she'd lost for a second time, the three friends closed their eyes and cried quietly into each other's shoulders.


	33. The Seasons' Aides

_**The Seasons' Aides**_

Emma hadn't cried like this since the day she'd seen her brother fall beneath the ice in her stead. She thought that after centuries, she'd finally get the chance to have her brother back…she hadn't thought that she and her mother would only have Jack back with them for less than a year. Hot tears streamed from her eyes and she didn't even feel the cold of the ice that her brother had turned into…and all to protect her from a dark puppet made from his physical form.

"Jack…" she sniffled. "Wake up…please…"

From the sidelines, everyone else was crying silently, distraught at the sight in front of them. Hiccup and the girls were all crying to comfort one another, Mother Nature's face was set into marbled disbelief, Tooth was crying into North's shoulder, and even Pitch looked mournful. Bunny and Sandy could only gaze on quietly until something caught the Pooka's eye…the tiniest drop of water dripping off Jack's frozen nose and the faintest glow of pink under the ice.

"Wait…hold up…" he muttered, catching everyone off guard. As everyone began to see what Bunny had seen, the silent sadness turned into silent confusion as Jack's midriff began glowing, right where Emma's face was resting.

"What's going on…?" Tooth whispered as the ice began to retreat… Jack was regaining colour…

The ice was melting.

"No way…" Hiccup breathed.

Emma didn't notice until her brother had completely defrosted and nearly collapsed on top of her.

"Ah!" Jack exclaimed as he gasped for breath. In the background, Pitch and Merida both sagged.

"Great. Just as I though' we'd found a way to shut him up…" Merida mumbled sarcastically.

"Eek!" Emma squeaked as Jack stumbled forward — luckily, the spirit caught himself before squashing her.

"Whoa!" he yelped, righting himself. "Sorry, Em — are you okay?"

"Am I okay?!" Emma repeated in disbelief. Everyone behind her was staring with mouths dropping open — what in the name of Tsar Lunar XVI had just happened? "You turned into an ice statue! We all thought you were gone! You just defrosted! I should be asking if _you're_ okay!" It suddenly occurred to Emma that her brother was also staring at her, jaw hanging slightly open and his eyes wide with amazement, and not at the fact that he was alive (well, as much as a spirit could be alive). "What?"

"What…what happened to your hair in the last five minutes?" Jack asked. Emma started.

"WHAT?!" she squeaked. "We thought you died!" she repeated incredulously. "What's my hair got to do with anything?!"

"Actually…he's got a point…" Rapunzel mumbled, her bright green eyes wide as she spotted Emma's hair…in fact, make that her whole appearance. Emma spun around to face the others in confusion, still not aware at what had happened to her.

"Never mind me! What's happened to Jack's clothes?!" she squeaked childishly, pointing at her brother. Everyone's gazes snapped back to Jack — Emma had a point. Jack's get up was not his usual blue hoodie, nor was it his Nightlight armour.

"Sis! Your hair has turned _white_!" Jack snapped. Emma frowned before finally checking a strand of her hair — sure enough, it was no longer chestnut brown, but was the same snow white as her brother's beside her. That wasn't everything.

"Her eyes…they've turned blue…" Hiccup noticed. It was true — Emma's eyes had turned the same ice-blue as Jack's, leaving no trace of the hazel brown they'd once been. Even her clothes had changed — she no longer wore the wooden brown dress she wore as a Burgess colonist but instead she wore a simple but elegant ice-blue dress that was decorated with darker blue designs at the hems of the skirt and sleeves. Just showing in the moonlight were sparkling patterns of frost and swirling spirals of light that reminded Rapunzel of Van Gough's paintings.

"She's like…a mini female version of Jack Frost…" Rapunzel breathed in amazement. Mother Nature looked mystified.

"I can't believe it…" she whispered. "The Spirit of the Breeze and Aide of Jokul Frosti…"

"Eh…come again?" Merida frowned.

"Emma's what?" Jack chimed in. Even Emma looked confused as she finished checking herself out.

"A nameless spirit who hasn't been seen in…millennia," Mother Nature explained.

"But I have a name…" Emma protested quietly.

"You do now," Mother Nature agreed. Jack looked confused.

"Wait, Spirit of the Breeze?" he repeated. "Aide?"

"What about Wind?" North asked. "Jack has used to travel for centuries."

"Exactly — the wind's been with me since I woke up as Jack Frost," Jack pointed out. "And Emma was still very much alive then."

"Thanks for the reminder."

"I think it's like how you were until ten minutes ago," Mother Nature pondered. "The wind that carried you around the world was but a remnant…the purest essence of the spirit's power"

"So…like when Frosty here was Nightlight?" Bunny guessed. Sandy made a few sand pictures above his head which Rapunzel translated.

"Or Gaia for Mother Nature…wait, Gaia is real?!" she spluttered.

"Okay, I'm sure this is all _fascinating_ and everythin'," Merida cut across before anyone could answer Rapunzel's question. "But are we not gonna talk about what Emma said about Snow White suddenly 'aving a wardrobe revamp?"

This time, it was Jack's turn to check _his_ appearance. He was no longer wearing his hoodie or Nightlight armour, but instead it almost seemed to be a combination of the two plus his old cloak, except it was shorter and ice blue. He wore shoulder guards with sharp points as well as armour that covered his chest and middle, held in place with a blue-silver belt decorated with diamonds and sapphires. He wore shin and knee-guards of a similar description and his short cloak was held in place with a snowflake broach. Even his staff had changed — the shepherd's crook shape was still there but beneath the curl was a spearlike shard of Moonstone, very much like Nightlight's spear.

Jack was kind of glad to see that he was still barefoot for some reason.

"Jokul Frosti," Mother Nature greeted. Jack looked stunned for a moment before his face shifted into possibly the most genuine display of respect and humility that anyone had seen since North had first explained the concept of Centres to the boy. He bowed deeply, as if accepting the title.

"Mother Nature," he murmured back. Hiccup and the girls looked stumped.

"Wait…so he's officially Jokul Frosti now?" Rapunzel frowned. "Not just Jack Frost?"

"It's them same thing!" Jack protested, quickly snapping out of the humble persona (let's face it — it wasn't going to last. Merida was just disappointed she hadn't had time to place bets).

"When anyhow did that happen?" Merida asked.

"Does it have anything to do with me, by any chance?" Emma asked. Tooth suddenly screeched — the girl was hovering about five feet above the ground. "Oops!"

"You get used to it," Jack reassured once Emma's feet found solid ground again.

"I think it does," Hiccup cut it. "Actually…I _know_ it does!" he corrected himself confidently.

"This the whole Smartypants Centre kickin' in again?" Merida asked dryly.

"You asked me to see if there was anything we might have missed earlier," Hiccup reminded the redhead. "Took some digging but I think I managed to access Hosten's knowledge banks."

"Impressive," Pitch remarked with genuine praise in his voice. Jack crossed his arms haughtily at the Boogeyman.

"Who asked your opinion?" he shot.

"You know, Frost — I think I preferred it when you couldn't speak," Pitch snapped. It took nothing more than a glare from a literally-steaming-from-the-ears Mother Nature to shut them both up.

"That's some power, mate," Bunny noted. Hiccup flushed in embarrassment — he was confident that he had something but he was still humble about it. "Especially considering you're not even at full power like Frostbite here."

"Donnae remind us…" Merida mumbled. "Anyway — what'dja find, Haddock?"

"It's the Aides of the Season Spirits," Hiccup explained. "They…I mean… _we_ all had… _have_ , sorry…one. The task of managing an entire season is far too big just for one spirit — that's why there're multiples."

"Like the Snow Queen, Yuki Onna, Father Frost and Old Man Winter?" Jack listed. Hiccup nodded.

"Yeah, but the Aides are direct companions of the Season Spirits," he continued. "I think the spirits you mentioned are delegates. They've got the same powers but you're technically the one they answer to."

"I'm liking this even more," Jack smirked. _Now try arguing with me about burying people alive in snowstorms, Yuki._

"Hiccup's absolutely right," Mother Nature confirmed. "The Aides of the Season Spirits are the second-in-commands. And they are also the key to unlocking the full potential of a Season Spirits power as well as keeping it under control."

"Wow," Emma blinked in amazement. "Never thought I'd see the day where the younger sister is responsible for keeping her older brother under control."

"Sis, you realise you were, like, eight-five percent of my impulse control way back when?" Jack shot back ("I'll pretend I didn't hear you use that…" Hiccup grumbled).

"You mean if Hiccup, Merida and I find our Aides, we'll be able to control these powers enough to be strong enough for long enough to beat the Baba Yaga without causing too much damage?" Rapunzel quizzed.

"It's very likely that can be the case," Mother Nature confirmed.

"Question: _Why didn't we think of this sooner_?" Merida groaned, her entire body sagging in frustration that this hadn't, in fact, come up earlier.

"No idea, but can we just appreciate that Em and I have just unknowingly discovered how to make all of your lives a whole lot easier at this point?" Jack smirked. Merida shot him a glare.

"Can we all appreciate tha' things were a WHOLE LOT QUIETER WHEN YOU…?!" she began, only to cut herself off as a heap off snow slid off a suddenly steaming roof. "Whoops…"

"Hothead…" Jack muttered. Merida didn't hesitate to send a bubble of relatively hot water into his face at that point. "ARGH! HOT!"

"I'd offer a drying service, but I really don't think fire and ice are gonna mix well," Hiccup snickered.

"YOU JUST _LOVE_ SEEING ME SUFFER, DON'T YOU?!"

* * *

"So, how do we go about finding our Aides in the first place?" Rapunzel quizzed once they'd all (sans Pitch) gone to camp out at the Overlands (Mrs Overland was stunned to see her children's change in appearance — Jack was half certain that she still hadn't gotten over the shock and they'd been back a full half hour already). Gazes shot over to Hiccup who flung his hands upwards in defence.

"Hey, don't look at me! I can't get to every single piece of the knowledge banks in one go!" he protested.

"Mother Nature?" Tooth piped over, clasping a mug of sugar-free mint-tea in her hands. Mother Nature sipped a camomile and paused in thought.

"It's been so long since the Aides themselves surfaced," she noted. "Unlike the Season Spirits, their cycle of rebirth is…shall we say…a little less regular in comparison?"

"Och…because _tha's_ helpful," Merida grumbled over a hot chocolate. "It's not like our cycles of reincarnation were regular to begin with."

"If I had to take a guess, judging by Jack and Emma, that they are likely to be someone close to you," Mother Nature continued, ignoring the quip. "Someone you trust above all others…who's stuck by you through many hardships…"

"Does that mean that Hiccup's already got his?" Jack cut in. "Fairly sure he and that reptile of his are pretty tight." Remarkably, Hiccup didn't make a sarcastic retort but Toothless snorted from outside upon hearing 'reptile'.

"I don't think he is," Hiccup frowned. "I mean, yeah — Toothless has apparently stuck with me in my various lifetimes a lot, but…" He paused to rub the back of his neck in uncertainty. "I dunno. It's like the Night Fury and Hosten are two halves of a whole — there's never Hosten without the Night Fury. In a sense they're _both_ the Autumn Spirit. If these Aides are supposed to be entirely different spirits to us then I'm not sure if Toothless fits the bill. I think my Aide is gonna be someone else."

"At any rate, animals that are incapable of vocal human speech are unfortunately ineligible for a spirit's Aide," Mother Nature explained, wording things carefully so that she didn't offend the two animal spirits present.

"Any ideas?" Bunny asked. "There's gotta be someone. Family member, perhaps?"

"Only one I've got that's _not_ been body-snatched is my dad," Hiccup grimaced.

"And we all know how _that_ relationship works," Jack mumbled.

"What about young lady spoke of?" North suggested. Hiccup's head snapped upwards in surprise. Astrid? "You seem close."

"It shouldn't be impossible," Rapunzel shrugged. "I'm guessing Astrid knows about the leg thing…" Hiccup replied that practically his entire hometown knew about his missing appendage. "Well, if she knew how much it meant for you to keep it a secret, even from us, then that's a strong bond if ever I saw one."

"By that logic, my entire group of pals from back home could fit the bill," Hiccup pointed out dryly. _Dear gods, that already sounded painful…_

"Yeah, but you and Astrid are…" Merida smirked, crossing her fingers. Hiccup blushed bright red, even through his freckles, making his face clash horribly with his brown-auburn hair. "Aren't 'cha?"

"Uh…yes?" Hiccup nodded ("Jeez. Look who's turned shy all of a sudden." "Zip it, Frost."). "But that can't be enough of a criteria…"

"What about you, Goldie?" Merida asked. Rapunzel shot a glare at her.

"Stop calling me that!"

"Whatever. Got any ideas about your Aide?"

"Well…" Rapunzel fiddled with a strand of hair, which was piled up in a corner of the kitchen to stop others from tripping over it. "If we're using the same parameters as our ideas for Hiccup's Aide, then the best person I could think of is Eugene," she replied. "Somehow…I don't know. It sounds awful but I've always felt closer to him than Mother."

"Well, it's more of an idea than wha' I can come up with," Merida shrugged as she crossed her arms and pulled a face. "I've got nothin'."

"There has to be something in the Season Spirits' memories," Jack pressed. "Maybe someone like Astrid or Eugene was in one of your past lives. That could be an indicator."

"Jack is right," Mother Nature agreed. "If the Aides have lived before, you may be able to find them in the memories of your past lives." Merida shot a glance at the kitchen sink before looking back at the others.

"Alright," she sighed. "'old 'ands, guys. We're 'eaded for the lake."

Needless to say, Jack was less than pleased about experiencing Merida's water teleportation travel methods again.

* * *

 **A triple update today because I'm still in a Christmasy mood – Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Snoggletog, and many best wishes for the New Year!**

 **We're coming into the final act of this story, so if thank you guys for sticking with it for so long!**


	34. Discovering the Aides and More

_**Discovering the Aides and More:**_

Hiccup blinked a couple of times and his breath hitched as he found himself in the world of the past once more. Minutes ago, he and the girls had stepped into the Seeing Lake once Mother Nature had activated its magic again, and now he was once more alone in the memories of a life centuries past.

"Okay, is this the same life as the last time?" he muttered. He was in a wooded area, very similar to the one that had surrounded the Cove when he'd first met Toothless, but that didn't exactly help in timeline placements. Forests were centuries old to begin with and Hiccup wasn't exactly a botanist. And no, he didn't have anything in his knowledge banks that would help (that or he couldn't be bothered to look…actually, it was probably that).

Heading through the woods and doing his best to not trip over any protruding roots ("Stupid leg…"), Hiccup kept his eyes peeled for any sign of life…apart from trees. There had to be _something_ around here if it was hidden within Hosten's memory.

"I always hated hiking…" Hiccup grumbled as he clambered over a fallen tree before suddenly jolting backwards as an axe narrowly missed his nose. "WHOA! Holy… Odin's Beard in a barber shop…" he cussed as he made sure his heart was still working (could you actually die as a half-spirit? Actually, he didn't want to know that). Glancing in the direction that the axe had came from, Hiccup was about to yell something, forgetting for a moment that no one could see him in the memories, when his heart stopped and he temporarily forgot how to breathe.

A girl, with a face full of determined fury, ran over and yanked the axe from the tree it had lodged itself in. Before she somersaulted away, Hiccup had spotted an all too familiar face, beset with stormy blue eyes and framed with slightly matted Nordic Blonde hair.

That had been _Astrid_.

"What the…? What's she doing…?" Hiccup stammered, staggering to his feet to chase after her. There was no denying that was his friend — she looked _exactly_ the same as she had done when they were fifteen. Heck, even the way she wore her hair was the same! Her clothes were different, though. Her top was still blue, but it was woven in a pattern Hiccup didn't recognise, and she wore a leather skirt decorated with spikes over blue leggings and fur boots.

There was no doubt that this was the Viking era again, and somehow there had been an Astrid there as well as a Hiccup.

Continuing to watch the scene unfold, Hiccup gasped in amazement as he saw his teenage-Viking self…the one he'd seen bonding with Toothless before…standing rather sheepishly in front of Viking-teen Astrid who's stopped her axe-throwing in time to not run him through. Viking-Hiccup ran into the trees and while Astrid followed, she seemed to lose sight of him as she smacked a rock.

Hiccup yelped in shock as the forest around him disappeared to be replaced with a clifftop view overlooking a golden birch forest. At the edge of the cliff, crouched over something, was a black dragon — Toothless — and a human figure. This one looked older but he was missing his left leg and Hiccup recognised the messy hairstyle. Even from the back he looked astonishingly like Hosten had.

"Is that…?" Hiccup began but before he could finish the question a screech came, causing everyone on the clifftop to turn around. Hiccup's jaw dropped as he saw a different dragon — a bright blue parrot-like one — land on the other side of the cliff and a young woman dismounting. Again, he was stunned into silence at her appearance. The hair was slightly lighter, and she wore a red shirt instead of blue, but she was still Astrid. Just…older.

"Good afternoon, m'lady!" a voice sounded from behind him. Hiccup yelped as he turned around to see his face, just a couple of years older than he was now (maybe twenty at a guess? And did he _really_ sound like that?). He was looking at the older-Viking-Astrid with a gleam in his eyes — he looked so happy to see her. "Where have you been?"

"Winning races, what else?" Astrid replied, walking straight through Hiccup. Hiccup gasped for air as the horrible memories of the night of the accident raced back into his head but he forced himself to calm down, remembering that no one could see him here anyway, and proceeded to watch the scene in front of him.

The two were talking, as if they'd been telling each other everything for years. The older-Viking-Hiccup (it seemed hard to place him in the same era as this past Astrid — this guy was wearing a leather flight suit rather than furs) was talking about his concerns with becoming chief, and Astrid was comforting him.

The scene began to fade just as she placed a kiss on his cheek, but Hiccup already knew. He turned back to face the dragons once again — they were playing together, chasing each other around the cliff.

Before he returned to the real world, Hiccup remembered Toothless saying something when they'd seen his Astrid visiting his physical form in the hospital:

 _"_ _She reminds me of my friend's rider… She was strong and brave. If you were the tactician, she was the warrior. She was to you then what this girl is to you now… She brought out confidence in you…and you helped her open up."_

* * *

Rapunzel recognised the forest she'd embraced her new powers in almost instantly. Perhaps that had something to do with her connection to earth, but the voices of the trees and the feel of nature around her was as familiar to her now as it had been then.

"Well…might as well start the search somewhere, I guess," she mumbled, kicking her hair behind her so that she didn't trip over it. Wherever her Aide was, clearly they had existed in the same lifetime she'd seen when she'd met Fleur. If it was Eugene as she thought it might be, did that mean that she'd known him in this life as well?

Trekking through the trees, Rapunzel spotted two figures nearby. One was a girl wearing a dress not dissimilar to her own — it was the Rapunzel of centuries past. The other was a male, sporting brown hair and a small beard, wearing a teal jacket over a white shirt. On closer inspection, Rapunzel spotted hazel coloured eyes…

He was a little older but there was no doubt that this man was the spitting image of Eugene Fitzherbert. Stunned, Rapunzel hung back, watching the scene unfold from afar. Her past self was crying about something with past-Eugene hovering just over her shoulder. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

"You know, I can't help but notice that you're a little at war with yourself," he spoke. Past-Rapunzel looked up at him and he went on to talk about the venture they seemed to be on — from what Rapunzel could gather, this was Past-Rapunzel's first time out of the tower she'd seen her in last time.

"Break her heart?"

"In two."

"Crush her soul?"

"Like a grape."

The comments were so to-the-point it reminded Rapunzel of the days when she'd known Eugene as Flynn, back when they were kids.

The scene suddenly changed and Rapunzel nearly panicked as she found herself neck-deep in water. She could see her past self and Past-Eugene trapped in a cave, trying to find an escape from the rising water until Past-Eugene confirmed that he couldn't find an exit. Rapunzel began to wonder if this was how their lives had ended.

"I'm so sorry, Flynn," Past-Rapunzel cried quietly. Rapunzel froze — Flynn? There was a pause before…

"Eugene."

"Huh?"

"My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert."

They _were_ the same.

The scene changed again and Rapunzel was horrified to see her past self weeping over a lifeless Past-Eugene. Her hair was no longer golden and seventy feet long but the brown pixie crop that Rapunzel herself once had. Past-Rapunzel was singing the song that Rapunzel now only knew too well.

 _Heal what has been hurt…  
Change the Fates' design.  
Save what has been lost…  
Bring back what once was mine._

"What once was mine…"

Rapunzel watched as a single tear fell from her past-self's cheek, landing on Past-Eugene's face. She saw a mirror shard nearby and guessed that he'd used it to cut the hair. She could only wonder what had happened.

Moments later a burst of golden light erupted from the man's chest — both Rapunzels watched in amazement at it billowed around the room like a blooming flower before dying down. As it did, Past-Eugene opened his eyes.

"Rapunzel?"

"Eugene?"

Rapunzel felt her heart thudding against her ribcage. Her past self was clearly overjoyed…she could tell how much she loved her Eugene.

"Did I ever tell you that I've got a thing for brunettes?"

There could be no other.

* * *

"Merida?" Hiccup frowned as he emerged from the pond. The redhead was slumped against a tree with a frustrated scowl on her face while Jack and Emma stood nearby. Jack shrugged when Hiccup cast him a look.

"She was in there for, like, two minutes before she emerged," he explained, answering Hiccup's unanswered question.

"Did you figure it out that quickly?" Hiccup asked. Merida's scowl deepened.

"All i' was showin' me was me past self and a bear of all things," she grumbled. "If it's suggestin' tha' my Aide is a bear then I'd rather go solo."

"What?" Hiccup spluttered. "But…Mother Nature said animals couldn't be Aides. Not ones incapable of talking out loud, anyway."

"Well, this thing was only communicating in grunts," Merida huffed. "Havenae you go' anythin' in your knowledge banks abou' this?"

"They don't work like that!" Hiccup protested. "I've only got access to the knowledge that Hosten has been picking up on his entire existence and there's no guarantee that he ever knew Sol's Aide, she ever had one!"

"Well, _you're_ helpful," Merida scoffed.

"Did you find _your_ Aide, Hiccup?" Emma cut in before the argument could spiral out of control. Hiccup nodded.

"Yes," he said firmly. He quickly calculated the date as well — with everything that had been going on recently, it was a miracle in itself that he'd kept a decent track of time. "And I know exactly where I'm going to find her."

"So it _is_ your lovely lady-friend," Jack smirked. "I always thought you guys seemed pretty close. Guess relationships like these transcend lifetimes — go figure."

Hiccup glowered at the Spirit of Mischief for a few moments before a satisfying wisp of smoke started rising from his head.

"OUCH! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!"

Merida obliged with a probably-larger-than-necessary ribbon of water from the lake, leaving Jack resembling a half-drowned rat, much to everyone's entertainment including (to Jack's chagrin) Emma's. Moments later, Rapunzel emerged from the pond, an elated smile lighting up her face.

"Let me guess — Eugene?" Hiccup said just as his friend ran up onto the bank.

"Yes!" Rapunzel replied gleefully. "Oh, it was horrible, what happened to him before…but we still knew each other! We were still so close… He hasn't changed a bit!"

"Well, at least you two had your hunches confirmed," Merida huffed. "I'm nowhere close to findin' mine." Jack paused in though for a moment, with Emma giving him a curious look.

"Well, from what I can see, the Baba Yaga's been one step ahead of us for most of this adventure of ours," he frowned. "I'd bet my staff she's already twigged onto us trying to find your Aides, especially now Emma's been Wind-ified."

"Eloquent as always, Jack," Emma muttered.

"Well, even she can't be in two places at once," Rapunzel said firmly. "Hiccup and I know who ours are and where we can find them. We can protect them." Hiccup still looked uncomfortable with the mention of the Baba Yaga — not that anyone blamed him.

"What're you suggestin', Frost Face?" Merida asked.

"You're saying you've got a plan?" Hiccup added.

"Yes, I have a plan," Jack nodded, with a serious look on his face that no one would have ever pictured on him given his usual playful nature. "Hiccup, Rapunzel — you guys focus on finding Astrid and Eugene and making sure they're safe. Emma, Merida and I will go to the old hag's place and see if we can find anything there."

"WHAT? ARE YOU NUTS?!" Merida shrieked. Even Emma looked horrified.

"Need we remind you what happened the _last time_ you were there?" she snapped.

"We don't exactly need another Danny Phantom wannabe and evil puppet on our hands," Hiccup added, his voice dry but still warningly serious.

"Which is why we ask Sandy to provide her with a little nap," Jack suggested. "Or Pitch, if we're feeling particularly mean but I think nightmares might not be the best of ideas." Rapunzel frowned.

"It's not a bad plan, but there's still the issue of the Baba Yaga's…security system," she pointed out. "Didn't you say there was a cat and a dog there?"

"Also a very squeaky door and trees that won't let go once they've caught you," Jack nodded with a shudder. Rapunzel pondered in thought before her bright-green eyes lit up.

"It's exactly like the stories that Mother used to tell me," she beamed. Jack grinned slyly and Emma looked like she'd caught on as well.

"So the same weaknesses should work as well," he realised. Merida looked lost.

"Wha' are they talkin' abou'?" she glanced at Hiccup who seemed to twig onto things eventually.

"You're seriously thinking of breaking and entering into a powerful witch's house…" he began, his voice dripping with dry exasperation. "…with nothing but a few rashers of bacon, a couple of bread rolls, butter and _a ribbon_?!" he listed.

"Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?" Jack shrugged. "Besides, you got any better ideas, Leg-less?"

"THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR!" Hiccup retaliated furiously. Rapunzel stepped in between the two boys quickly before they could get into a fist fight (fire vs. ice, not to mention Hiccup had a dragon… Yeah. It would not have ended well for Jack).

"It's the only option we've got, Hiccup," she said calmly. "And right now we don't have any other way of finding Merida's Aide." Hiccup relented.

"Besides, any chance we get to mess up some of tha' witch's supplies, I'm game," Merida smirked. Hiccup shrugged — there was that, too. And Jack was right — he couldn't exactly think up of another, better plan and they were running short on time as it were. If they were to reclaim their mortal bodies before the life support plugs were pulled, they had less than twenty four hours left to do so. Dawn was breaking, but it was already late morning.

"Alright," he nodded. "Rapunzel and I will get Astrid and Eugene and see if we can't figure out some way to make them able to see us," he agreed. "You three do what you have to do."

"Meet you by the statue of Theodore Burgess by eight?" Jack suggested.

"Make it ten," Hiccup winced. "Astrid's got a gig."

And he had a plan.


	35. Shut Up and Take a Romantic Flight

_**Shut Up and Take a Romantic Flight with Me:**_

To say that Hiccup had _not_ been overly fond until waiting for half-past nine to start hatching his plan would be the understatement of the century. After he'd revealed his plan, practically every member of the team had tried persuading him to figure out some other way, one that would get Astrid on side much earlier in the day — his plan left them with mere hours to defeat the Baba Yaga. But nothing else he could think of was a better way of going about this: not if he wanted to be certain it would work.

 _There're probably a billion ways we could have done this earlier!_ Toothless grumbled irritably as he clung to the side of Moonstone Academy Hall.

"Music's practically everything to Astrid," Hiccup protested, not worrying about the people below as, by now, he was fully aware that they could not see or hear the near-twenty-feet long winged reptile on the side of a building in otherwise plain sight.

 _You haven't changed in the slightest…_ Toothless sighed in exasperation. Hiccup questioned how so. _Even when I saw you last, you were always making the craziest of plans and going along with them no matter what anybody told you otherwise._

"Stubbornness runs in the family, I suppose," Hiccup shrugged.

 _And transcends lifetimes, it seems._

"Oh, shut up," Hiccup huffed. He could see the audience applauding Astrid's latest number. He remembered Astrid organising this gig months ago, back when they'd first started at Moonstone. He'd promised that he'd be the one on the lighting desk, as usual. He hated himself for breaking that promise.

It wouldn't be the first time a trip to the hospital had disrupted his plans with his other half.

Seeing that the finale was about to start, Hiccup patted Toothless on the shoulder and they scrambled up to an open window on the top floor of the building. The same rules of the spirit realm applied to Toothless — people and animals of the mortal realm would phase right through him, but he couldn't ghost through inanimate objects and walls. Hiccup nudged the window open a little more and jumped inside, subconsciously pressing against the wall to let scurrying stagehands past. Heading to the tech room, he hung back a little as he saw Jim Hawkins sitting at the lighting desk — the student was alone in the tech room. Jim placed a finger to his headset and began counting down.

"Cue the music in five, four, three, two…"

Hiccup peered over the desk — Astrid was alone on was a sadness in her face that Hiccup could see even though it was in shadow.

Hiccup nearly jolted when he the music started — he knew this one. It was one that he and Astrid had improvised an impromptu dance to back when they were fourteen and had just completed their Grade 6 dance exams. He could still see them in their school hall at the end of year disco.

Hiccup watched intently as Astrid sang the first verse of the song. The lyrics were changed as if it were from the girl's point of view rather than the original male, but the feeling was still there. But the sadness in her face lingered and Hiccup could see it — she was covering it up well, and Astrid was pretty good at hiding her emotions when she wanted to, but Hiccup knew her too well to miss it.

As the first chorus approached, Hiccup took his opportunity. Mumbling an apology to Jim that he knew would go unheard, he found the student's copy of the very-heavy _Advanced Performance Technology_ Techniques and dropped it onto Jim's head from as high a distance as he could manage, knowing full well that if he tried to straight hit him with it it would pass straight through his head.

Jim slumped onto the desk and now that he was unconscious, Hiccup could manoeuvre him out of the way (why did it work this way? Hiccup had long given up questioning things) and get to the lighting desk.

"You never did like pre-programmed performances, anyway," he muttered, the comment directed at Astrid as he closed the programming software and turned on manual control.

* * *

As Astrid hit the chorus, on stage she was all too aware of the sudden lighting change. With Hiccup in hospital, she'd had to go with Jim as her techie and with it, a pre-programmed lighting sequence. There was such an obvious change to it in her eyes (admittedly, the transition itself had been smoother than a plane's touchdown) that it nearly threw her off guard.

But she was as good as professional when it came to this and the crowd hadn't taken notice, so she began to improvise away from her rehearsed routine. And somehow, this felt more right… When had Jim learned to improv on the lighting desk?

* * *

Hiccup found himself grinning as he manoeuvred switches and slides to operate the lights and sounds as he felt necessary for Astrid's performance, keeping an eye on her every move. He could tell she'd noticed the change in lights, but that's exactly what he'd been hoping for. He _needed_ her to notice.

As the song continued, he could still see their fourteen-year-old selves in their school dance hall, clearing the dance floor as they spun and leapt across it. The routine had been entirely improvised, but they'd worked seamlessly together, as if reading the other's thoughts. Hiccup remembered how it had been at that point that he no longer cared about what others thought of his dancing. He had support in Astrid, and that was all that really mattered to him.

The second verse and chorus finished and Astrid launched into an improvised solo dance routine, earning rapturous applause from the audience. Hiccup was barely watching — he was back in his element on that desk. The lights and the music were his to command, the power he'd had before he'd even summoned his Blade for the first time.

 _Deep in his eyes,  
I think I see the future.  
I realise  
This is my last chance!_

Astrid was sounding more passionate by the second and it showed in her performance. Hiccup altered the lighting and sound to match, lifting his gaze back up to Astrid. He could see the intensity in her face even from the desk.

 _I took his arm!  
I don't know how it happened.  
We took the floor  
And I said…!_

Hiccup brought the lighting and music down to a quieter level, giving Astrid a moment of respite. She seemed to take it, holding still almost serenely with the microphone in her hands. Her eyes were closed peacefully for a moment until she opened them as she began singing…

Raising her gaze to the tech desk.

" _Don't you dare look back_ ," she sang softly, her gaze almost searching. Hiccup's eyes met hers, although he had no idea if she could see him. " _Just keep your eyes on me…_ "

" _I said "You're holding back"…_ " Hiccup sang along quietly, as if he were singing a prayer. The song was a memory for the both of them, and a deeply treasured one. " _She said "Shut up and dance with me"…_ "

This _had_ to work…

" _I know this boy's my destiny…_ " Astrid continued. " _I said… Ooh-ooh…_ " There was a pause as Hiccup brought the music to a stop and centred a single spotlight onto Astrid. There was a flash of recognition in her eyes.

"SHUT UP AND DANCE!" she cried, punching a fist into the air.

Bang on cue, Hiccup let loose his signature lighting move: a flash of blue light that filled the stage to bring the song into its final stage. Now that he thought about it, the flash he'd claimed as his trademark was very similar to the light emitted by Toothless' fire.

By now, Hiccup wasn't entirely sure what to call a coincidence anymore.

Astrid launched herself into the final chorus and Hiccup complimented her every move with his lighting. As the song came to a close, Hiccup felt out of breath. He felt alive. For three minutes, it was as if the last few weeks hadn't happened. The fire had never taken place. He'd never found out that he was the current incarnation of an ancient spirit.

As the song ended, the audience erupted with applause. Astrid took her bows and eventually headed off stage, with one of the stage assistances informing the audience that there would be no encore that evening, and thanking them for their attendance. Seeing Astrid leave the stage, Hiccup shot out of the tech room — Jim would be coming to any minute now and while he doubted his friend could see him, Hiccup had other priorities.

Namely, finding Astrid.

* * *

Astrid tore through the corridors as she ignored the directions to her dressing room …well, rented classroom…completely. Instead, she was heading up the stairs to the student's tech room. Jim Hawkins was supposed to be the one manning the tech desk, so what had been with the lighting changes?

She knew that improvisation…

She _knew_ that blue flash of light at the song's climax…

But how was that even possible?

"Astrid, are you okay?" one of the stagehands, Sherman Peabody, asked worriedly as she sped past him.

"I'm fine — need to discuss a few things with Tech," she called back. She rounded the corner to head up the stairwell when…

 _CRASH!_

"AH!" Astrid yelped as she collided headfirst with something, knocking her backwards onto the floor. At the same time, whatever it was that she'd crashed into was also sent flying down the stairs and landing a few feet away from her on the floor. "What's the big idea…? Huh?!" she gasped as she looked up, any angry glare she had in her eyes vanishing instantaneously as she saw the person she'd bumped into.

His outfit was some kind of bizarre medieval-steampunk mashup but there was no mistaking those eyes and that mop of hair.

But this was impossible…

* * *

Hiccup's eyes flew wide open as he came face to face with Astrid. Her eyes were taking up half of her face, and they were both stunned into silence. Astrid, no doubt, for the fact that Hiccup was supposed to be in hospital with severe burns and barely showing any signs of life.

Hiccup, for the fact that he'd just bumped into her.

To her, he was solid.

To her, he was visible.

"ASTRID!" someone shouted. Hiccup and Astrid both glanced up the stairs — it was Jim, nursing a headache. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm…fine…" Astrid replied, casting another look at Hiccup who met her gaze again.

"Are you sure?" Jim shouted. "I'm on my way to the nurse — banged my head real hard somehow. You want to come with?"

"No," Astrid shook her head, getting to her feet. "I'll…be in the classroom…"

"What're you staring at?" Jim asked, walking down the stairs. He looked in Hiccup's direction but clearly saw nothing apart from the noticeboard behind him. "Look, I'm sure they'd be seriously proud of you for this. We all miss them."

"But…" Astrid began, casting a confused glance between Hiccup and Jim. Hiccup shook his head slightly, hoping that she'd get the hint that only she could see him. "You're right. Go get that head checked up," she instructed as she turned heel back down the corridor. Hiccup wasted no time in following her.

As they reached the classroom Astrid was using as her dressing room, Astrid opened the door and glared at Hiccup, who took a startled step back. On one hand, he was glad that she could actually see him and was therefore able to give him such a look, but on the other hand he was now suitably terrified. That look often meant that Astrid was incredibly ticked off and was probably going to dislocate his shoulder.

"In," she hissed sharply, holding the door open. Hiccup gulped and obeyed, hurrying into the room before taking a deep breath.

"Look, Astrid, I know that this is a lot to take in," he began before even turning around to face Astrid as she closed the door. "And I know that this is all going to sound crazy but…" He turned around and shrieked in terror as he saw a can of pepper spray aimed directly at his face. Astrid looked as if she was suffering an extreme conflict of emotions. She looked angry, confused and distraught all at once. Hiccup was heartbroken — he'd never seen Astrid like this. For a few moments, both teens remained silent. Hiccup's eyes were almost pleading and shining with heartbreak. He needed a chance to explain things to Astrid but she looked to confused to let anyone speak.

Eventually, it was Astrid herself that broke the silence.

"The first thing he said to me the day he woke up," she said, quietly, firmly and almost threateningly.

"Huh?" Hiccup blinked for a moment until he realised that Astrid was searching for proof that he was the real thing. He knew this would be confusing, especially with his current situation, but he had to do this. He knew exactly what day Astrid was talking about. It was the day he'd woken up in hospital when he was fifteen. The day he'd woken up discovering that he no longer had his left leg and that his mother was gone. It seemed like so long ago, but the memory of it was still all too clear in his mind.

"'I guess Friday's off, then?'," he said, in almost the same tone he'd used that day. Sarcastic, but painfully, as if he knew that things would never be the same.

Astrid's lip trembled as she lowered the can of pepper spray, placing it down on the nearest desk. Hiccup remained frozen in place as his closest human friend…his girlfriend…closed the distance between them. It used to be that she'd stood taller than him, but thanks to his recent growth spurts Hiccup now succeeded Astrid in height by a few inches.

That wasn't enough to prevent her from punching him directly in the nose.

"OW!" Hiccup cried out in unrestrained pain. "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU, WOMAN?!" he yelled. Astrid was now in tears: angry, and joyful tears.

"How are you _real_?!" she sobbed as Hiccup made sure he didn't have a broken nose. "How are you _here_?!"

"Long story, but you _have_ to let me explain!" Hiccup begged, holding out a hand to keep the girl at bay.

"For _weeks_ I've been visiting you!" Astrid shouted. "You are in hospital! You're practically…!" She choked on her own words, sobs clogging her speech. Without skipping a beat, Hiccup strode over and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder.

"I'm here…" he whispered. "I'm real…"

"How…how long…?" Astrid choked, returning the hug.

"Since it happened," Hiccup replied softly. Astrid gasped quietly.

"But…how? What…are you?" she asked. Hiccup broke the hug but kept his hands on Astrid's shoulders.

"Halfway between this world and the next, I guess," he grimaced. "We all are."

"Merida and Rapunzel, too?" Astrid blinked in surprise.

"You're being awfully accepting of all this," Hiccup noted dryly.

"Who else would know what Hiccup said to me when I was the only one there when he woke up that day?" Astrid pointed out. "I don't want to believe it…but I do." Hiccup's heart soared. There was that key word: _Believe_. "But why haven't I seen you before? Why now?"

"You…didn't believe," Hiccup explained simply. Astrid frowned, demanding more explanation. "Astrid, you've no idea how much I've wanted to talk to you guys…for you to see me so that I can tell you I'm trying to find a way to fix this…but you just…didn't…believe."

"And I'm to believe that's how this all works?" Astrid said cynically. "That we're supposed to believe in something we don't even know exists?"

"Yes, it's a stupid system," Hiccup sighed.

"But…" Astrid began but Hiccup quickly shushed her when he heard something thudding against the windows. He glanced over his shoulder and hissed when he saw a mass of black feathers trying to break through the glass. "What is THAT?!"

So Astrid could see the feathers too…

"I hoped we'd have more time than this…" Hiccup growled. He grabbed Astrid's hand and began running. "Follow me."

Without any explanation, despite Astrid's screams at him to provide her one, Hiccup began tearing through the schools corridors before busting through a fire escape. As soon as they stepped outside, the feathers began swarming towards them.

"HICCUP!" Astrid screamed.

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup yelled. A banshee-screech replied, and Astrid let out another shriek as she spotted a silhouette bounding towards them.

"Is that…?!" she began as they began running along the creative side by side. Hiccup swung her onto its back, earning another shriek, before jumping up himself.

"I'll explain later!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Hold on!"

Before Astrid could protest, Hiccup kicked the creature…a dragon…named Toothless…into the skies, with the torrent of feathers swarming after them like hornets, biting at Astrid's heels. Astrid screeched as she nearly fell off the dragon so Hiccup didn't hesitate to lean back as far as he could in the saddle and grabbed the first thing he could to make sure Astrid didn't fall, which just so happened to be the hem of her shirt.

"I thought I said 'Hold on'!" he shouted as Astrid scrambled upright, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso.

"What the heck is going on here?!" she yelled down his ear. She shrieked as a ribbon of feathers wrapped itself around her arm and screamed even louder when Hiccup sent a burst of flame down it, sending the accursed things recoiling. "What are they?!" Astrid demanded. "What do they want from me?!"

"Toothless — head for the Lake!" Hiccup ordered. Toothless grunted in confirmation and made a beeline for the forest, with Astrid screaming her head off all the while as they went. As soon as he had the Lake in sight, Hiccup summoned his Blade and sent a single blast of bright green fire at the water, ignoring Astrid's confused and frightened demands for answers. The surface of the Lake shimmered green and he could just about make out what looked like sky.

"Henrik Haddock, if you don't tell me what's going on right now…!" Astrid began, before she was cut off as Hiccup led Toothless into a dive. She buried her face into Hiccup's shoulder.

"Let me show you!" he yelled as the dragon broke the surface of the water…

…only to fly upwards towards a sunset sky.

Hiccup panted with relief as he glanced over the shoulder Astrid hadn't buried her face in. The feathers hadn't followed them through the Lake — all that he could see was a rolling sea that sparkled with evening sunshine. Smiling softly, he squeezed Astrid's hand as he levelled out Toothless' flight, telling her that it was okay to look up.

Hesitantly, Astrid forced herself to open her eyes and sit upright. As she did, she was overtaken by the sheer beauty of the world she found herself in. There were clouds stained pink and orange all around her and…she felt safe. The feathers, whatever they'd been, were gone, and she felt strangely at ease.

"What…?" she breathed in awe. "Where are we?"

"A world we used to live in," Hiccup replied. Astrid frowned at him. "Like I said…this is going to sound crazy."

"My other half is both here and in hospital at the same time…" Astrid listed. "I am on the back of what I'm assuming is a dragon and you're dressed in some kind of medieval-steampunk cosplay…"

"It's a flight suit!"

"Whatever," Astrid shrugged. "I'm fairly sure there's not much else you can tell me that'll surprise me."

"Ten bucks says you're wrong," Hiccup grimaced.

"Try me."

"Jack, Rapunzel, Merida and I are all reincarnation of the Spirits of the Seasons," Hiccup explained. Astrid blinked incredulously. "Jack's always been like this…well, for longer than we've ever known him, anyway…but the girls and I…we only found out a few weeks ago."

"Spirits of the Seasons?" Astrid repeated in disbelief. "And Jack's been one for a while? You're saying he's Jack Frost or something?"

"Technically Jokul Frosti but that's exactly what I'm saying," Hiccup nodded. Astrid's eyes widened.

"Wait, you're serious?" she spluttered.

"Do I have any reason to lie to you?" Hiccup asked.

"This is…insane…" Astrid whispered. Great, she now owed Hiccup ten dollars. "And what do you mean by reincarnations? You said this place…" she said, gesturing the skies around them. "…was a world _we_ used to live in?"

"You caught the 'we', huh?" Hiccup smirked. "Well, I meant it. The last time the Autumn Spirit…me, apparently…took a mortal form, it was in this time and place."

"Time?" Astrid repeated.

"Way back in the Viking era," Hiccup explained. "I've seen it…I've seen his memories… You were there, too."

"Me?" Astrid blinked.

"Look, the others and I are trying to get back to our mortal bodies," Hiccup explained quickly. "The way we got like this…it was because of a witch called the Baba Yaga."

"Grandma Chicklenlegs?" Astrid checked. "She's real?"

"A lot of fairytale figures are," Hiccup nodded. "But kids can only see them if they believe in them."

"And she's made you like this?"

"She wanted to harvest the powers of the Season Spirits to gain enough power to be seen by…everyone, I guess was the goal. But we've been fighting back, although even now she's strong and we…" Hiccup broke himself off and winced. "We're pretty much making things up as we go along. We don't even know how to fully control these powers."

"Wait, did you guys have something to do with all the car alarms that were going off in town the other day?" Astrid frowned.

"Probably," Hiccup winced.

"And what about me?" Astrid asked. "What were those feathers and why did they suddenly come after me?"

"You've been a part of the Autumn Spirit's lives as well," Hiccup explained. "Someone called an Aide. You're pretty powerful in your own right, though I don't think you can access them as a human. I'm not turning you into what I am," he said firmly. "But you can still help."

"How?"

A croon sounded not far below the two teens and Toothless. Toothless growled back happily in return, a growl which Hiccup was delightfully amazed to hear.

"That's your friend?" he asked. "The one you told me about?"

"You can understand him?" Astrid asked. Hiccup nodded as another dragon flew up alongside them. Astrid gasped when she saw it.

Unlike Toothless, this dragon was bipedal and was brightly coloured with blues, reds and yellows. It had spines smoothed down along its tail and a mane of spines fanning out around its head. It reminded Astrid very much of a parrot mixed with a velociraptor. It was a beautiful dragon, and one that she found startling familiar.

She knew that face. She knew those wide yellow eyes. Those eyes that seemed to smile as they met her own.

"Stormfly?" Astrid whispered.

"You know that dragon?" Hiccup asked. Astrid shook her head.

"I've never seen her in my life…but somehow, I still know that's her name," she replied. The dragon crooned gently.

 _It has been too long. Our companionship is far to strong to be broken by a mere lifetime._

Without thinking, Astrid stood up on Toothless' back and launched herself into the air, ignoring Hiccup's cry of protest. Stormfly dove slightly to allow the girl to land on her back, where a saddle was already set up. Hiccup watched in amazement — Astrid was taking to flying like a fish took to water. When she next came into clear view, her face was one of pure joy.

"So, Mr Autumn Spirit," she grinned. "How about a race before we head back and show that witch-lady who's boss?"

Before Hiccup had a chance to reply, Astrid and Stormfly had already shot off into the clouds. Hiccup smirked — he supposed a little race couldn't hurt, and they still had time before the agreed meeting time back by the statue in Burgess.


	36. I See the Light

_**I See the Light:**_

Rapunzel could not stop muttering under her breath about how irritated she was that Hiccup's plan had to wait until gone nightfall. Everyone knew the severity of their situation and with less than twenty-four hours to go before the life support plugs were pulled, tensions within the team were running high.

She could only hope that Merida and Jack were having a less irritating time finding out who Merida's Aide was.

"From now on, Hiccup does _not_ get to make the plans…" she grumbled as she headed over to Eugene's home. It was as good a place as any to start looking but knowing how much of an outdoors person Eugene was, Rapunzel knew that he could just as likely be anywhere in Burgess at this time in the evening. She could only hope that she found him before the Baba Yaga.

Poking around Eugene's house just down the road from Jack's, Rapunzel was disappointed but not at all surprised to see that Eugene wasn't in. It made her job of finding him a little harder, but given how dark it was and how they still didn't know Burgess as well as the locals there were only a handful of places that he might be.

One such place was the main square.

Picking up her hair so that she didn't trip over it, Rapunzel began jogging towards the centre of town, past the statue of Theodore Burgess that she would meet the rest of the gang by later on that evening. Dodging some frozen puddles and watching, with mild curiosity, the spring flowers that appeared at her feet before disappearing as quickly as they grew, she made her way to the main square.

Rapunzel paused for a moment as she made it to the centre of town. The hospital was visible from there and she could see a single light in the windows. It was well past visiting hours, so she guessed it might be a doctor's office. Eventually, her eye was caught by the silhouette of someone also looking at that same light: a young man with scruffy chestnut hair, which looked more dishevelled than normal.

Leaning sadly against a lamppost and looking almost brokenheartedly up at the light in the hospital window was Eugene Fitzherbert.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel cried out, reaching out her arm. There was no response from her sweetheart…her friend…her partner. Rapunzel's heart sank as Eugene began walking in her direction and passed right through her. He still couldn't see her…how was she supposed to make him see her? The rule with spirits was that people had to believe in them in order to see them, right?

How could she make Eugene believe in her?

Rapunzel's thoughts were interrupted by a rustling in the shadows. Her breath hitched when she saw a flurry of black chicken feathers rushing towards Eugene…

Dammit, she thought she'd have more time than this.

"EUGENE! LOOK OUT!" she screamed, although her cry went unheard. Eugene paused in his tracks, however, and looked down…seeing the feathers. "She's already powerful enough to do this…" Rapunzel realised, remembering that she had seen the feathers before she fell from her window all those weeks ago. If Eugene could see them, he was marked.

She had to save him.

"What's this…?" Eugene muttered, kicking at the feathers but it did little but disperse them momentarily before they regrouped. "Get…get away from me!" he cried before sprinting down a street. Rapunzel's breath hitched — she knew enough by now to know that Eugene wasn't running, but was being herded.

Whatever was at the end of his supposed escape route was a deadly 'accident' just waiting to happen.

"No…EUGENE!" she shrieked, sprinting after him and the trail of feathers that was snapping at his heels. She could see them forming a silhouette…one of a girl with short hair.

That was her.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" she yelled, whipping a lock of hair at the feathers and sending them scattering in a ribbon of golden light. Eugene in the meantime had turned down an alley in an attempt to escape and there were still enough feathers to scare him. Rapunzel didn't hesitate to follow but there were too many chicken feathers to disperse by her hair alone. She twirled her paintbrush in her hand and sent streaks of light after them but without a specific object in mind she couldn't create anything substantial. If only she could create enough light…

Wait. Glowing hair.

"RAPUNZEL!" Eugene was now shouting, as if in a desperate cry for help. Rapunzel wanted to shout back that she was there…that she was going to help him. All she could do for now was sing.

" _Flower, gleam and glow_!" she chanted quickly. " _Let your powers shine! Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine_!"

The song set a burst of golden light down her ribbon of hair. As it did, Rapunzel flung it forward into the swarm of feathers. When the golden light came into contact with them, they seemed to burn away to dust and made a chilling noise like a pained scream. Eugene had brought his arms up to protect himself but lowered them at the burst of light — if he could see the feathers, then he saw that.

Rapunzel saw her chance. Taking out her brush again, she made lyrical movements through the air as if she were performing one of her ribbon dances. As she did, she kept singing — Eugene had heard her sing the song on countless occasions…there was a chance he might hear it. As she sang, the same gentle golden light trailed from the tip of the brush and elegant figures flowered from the light, creating dancers almost blossoming in each other's arms as well as childlike figures running and playing games with each other.

Rapunzel was fuelling every memory she had of her and her friend into this verse and could only hope that Eugene could see it.

 _Heal what has been hurt,  
Change the Fates' design.  
Save what has been lost,  
Bring back what once was mine…_

" _What once was mine_ …" Rapunzel finished but she heard another voice mingling with hers — a male voice. That was Eugene's voice…he could _hear_ her!

Hopefully, Rapunzel looked up at Eugene and let the light fade, leaving it just light enough in the alleyway to still see the young man. He looked so rugged…she hadn't seen him like this since his thieving days as a child. His hair was unkempt and his face was shallow. He looked tired.

"Eugene…" she whispered longingly. _Please say he can see me, please say he can see me…_

"Impossible…" Eugene murmured. Rapunzel's breath hitched with hope. Could he see her? "You can't be… What are you?"

He'd asked her a direct question. He could see her.

"You already know the answer to that, _Schatz_ ," she replied softly, allowing the German nickname to slip into the sentence. Eugene still stared at her in disbelief. "I know. The hair makes a difference…"

"Who are you…and how did you find me?" Eugene interrupted. Rapunzel gasped for a moment before chuckling to herself — usually this was the other way round, but for the current situation she could fully understand why Eugene was doing this. It was their personal greeting, after all.

"I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you," she replied with what she hoped was every part of smoothness as Eugene used whenever he said it. "But can I just say…hi?"

Eugene was visibly shaking and sank to his knees as Rapunzel completed the greeting. taken aback, she ran over and cradled him close, trying her best to comfort him.

"Eugene!" she cried. "I know…this is crazy…but it's me! You have to believe me…"

"How?" Eugene muttered again. "They're…you're…"

"I know," Rapunzel said softly. "I know I'm in hospital as well…there's so much to explain…" she rambled, wringing her hands together. "Where do I even start? Umm…I don't even know if you're going to believe me. I mean, clearly you believe _in_ me now, because…you know…you can see me now, and I'm probably still not making any sense…"

"Your hair glows."

Rapunzel stopped her wittering at that.

"Huh?" she blinked.

"Why was it glowing?" Eugene asked, his voice small and his eyes wide. Rapunzel chuckled nervously.

"It doesn't…just glow…" she shrugged. Strange…she felt like they'd had this conversation before. She stood up and held out a hand. "Come on…we've got a lot to talk about."

Eugene was hesitant but he couldn't help but know that this ethereal young woman with seventy feet of golden hair was _his_ Rapunzel. He trusted her, even if he had no idea what was going on. He accepted the offered hand and began walking with her through the streets of Burgess.

* * *

"So the Grandma Chickenlegs of that old fairytale is actually real," Eugene summed up as he and this strange Other Rapunzel stood by the statue of Theodore Burgess. "She tried to kill you, Merida, Hiccup and Jack, and you four are reincarnations of the spirits that govern the world's seasons."

"Yes," Rapunzel confirmed. "And now we're trying to defeat her in order to return to our normal selves…well, Merida, Hiccup and I are."

"Jack's already full spirit?" Eugene spluttered. Rapunzel nodded. "Wow…that's some secret to keep from your best friends."

"Would we have believed him?" Rapunzel pointed out. "I'm amazed you were able to believe in me enough to see me, especially when you didn't know I existed."

"That light that burned those feathers away…" Eugene remembered softly. "I heard a voice in that light. Your voice." He smiled ever so slightly but didn't make eye contact with Rapunzel. "It seemed nuts, but I just wanted to believe that you were there. I didn't know if I was going to be joining you in hospital."

"Don't say things like that!" Rapunzel reprimanded. "You were marked by the Baba Yaga, that's why you could see those feathers in the first place."

"Why?" Eugene asked. "What would this old hag want with me?" Rapunzel took a deep breath and twiddled her paintbrush in her hands before replying.

"We four Season Spirits have what are called Aides — they help us keep our powers under control," she explained. "They don't always surface with us every time we take spirit form or human, but when they do they're someone very close to us." It clicked for Eugene immediately.

"You're saying that…I'm yours?" he realised. Rapunzel merely nodded. "This is…"

"Insane, I know," Rapunzel laughed nervously. "You're taking this amazingly well."

"It doesn't feel like a lie, weirdly enough," Eugene shrugged. "If anyone else was telling me this, I'd tell them that they were off-their-rocker crazy. But coming from you…you've never really lied to me, Blondie," he snickered. Rapunzel summoned her frying pan and gave the young man a sharp whack around the shoulder in retaliation. "Aw, come on! The nickname fits now!"

"Don't call me 'Blondie'," Rapunzel smirked back. She and Eugene chuckled together for a moment and for that second alone, everything felt normal again. Rapunzel sighed and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear before cautiously leaning onto Eugene's shoulder, just to make sure that this was real.

"The hair won't stay when we get you back, will it?" Eugene asked softly.

"Doubt it…wait," Rapunzel blinked. "You're saying you'll help?"

"Can't exactly back down when I owe someone like you a favour," Eugene smiled sincerely back. After all, if Rapunzel hadn't befriended him all those years ago, he'd probably be anywhere but Moonstone Academy right now. "So the hair doesn't stay?"

"Looks like a spirit-only thing," Rapunzel giggled in relief and joy. Already she felt the power surging through her calming down, as if something was stemming the flow to a manageable level. "Besides, don't you have a thing for brunettes?" she teased.

"When did I ever say that?" Eugene frowned. Rapunzel flushed — whoops. Memories merging.

"A…a long time ago," she replied simply. Eugene chuckled.

"I do like the pixie cut," he admitted. "But this isn't so bad either."

Rapunzel smiled and relaxed into her sweetheart's shoulder again, softly humming the song she was supposed to have had finished for Christmas. It had been a class coursework assignment, but she'd nonetheless shared its progress with Eugene. It seemed so long ago that he'd caught her singing it on her guitar on the one day she'd beaten Hiccup and Astrid to school the day they found out Hiccup's father had arrived in town. She hummed the first part of the verse, but as she found herself coming to where she left off, she couldn't help but start singing the lyrics softly.

 _Now we're here, blinking in the starlight.  
Now we're here…suddenly I see,  
Standing here, it's all so clear:  
I'm where I'm meant to be!_

 _And, at last, I see the light,  
And it's like the fog has lifted.  
And, at last, I see the light!  
And it's like the sky is new.  
And it's warm and real and bright,  
And the world has somehow shifted…_

 _All at once, everything is different,  
Now that I see you._

Pausing in her singing for a moment, Rapunzel re-summoned her frying pan and broke the soft embrace she had with Eugene. Facing him directly, she held the kitchen utensil out towards him.

"Well, I guess if you're going to be fighting alongside us, you're going to need a weapon," she smiled nervously. Dragging Eugene into this was really the last thing she wanted to do, but it was the last chance that they had.

"A frying pan?" Eugene smirked.

"You know as well as I do how effective these things are," Rapunzel pointed out. "At least try to get a whack to that witch's head for me?"

"I'll do my best," Eugene promised as he took the shimmering frying pan, tucking it under his arm before he took Rapunzel herself in his arms. They began swaying in a simple waltz, dancing around the other side of the statue and using the surrounding streetlamps as their spotlights as Eugene began to sing his own part of their song.

 _All those days, chasing down a daydream…  
All those years, living in a blur.  
All that time, never truly seeing  
Things the way they were._

 _Now you're here, shining in the starlight.  
Now you're here…suddenly I know,  
If you're here, it's crystal clear!  
I'm where I'm meant to go!_

Both teens sang the final chorus without a care if anyone could see Eugene seemingly dancing by himself in the park on the edge of town. Without realising it, Rapunzel's hair began glowing like the sun again, surrounding the duo with a protective and comforting circle of light as, for a few precious moments, they took the chance to be who they'd been before.


	37. Noble Maiden Fair

_**Noble Maiden Fair:**_

Merida kept her bow at the ready every step of the way through the forest as Jack led her and Emma towards the hut where the Baba Yaga resided. None of the three really knew what to be prepared for, and so had to be prepared for anything. The only things they had to go on was the tips from the fairytale of Grandma Chickenlegs, and that would only (hopefully) take care of the security.

"So we're sure that the old hag's asleep, eh?" Merida whispered to Jack as they neared the clearing.

"Of course," Jack nodded, pointing at a ribbon of golden sand trickling through the air in the direction they were travelling in. "Sandy's Dreamsand knocks out even the lightest of sleepers. You should've seen the other Guardians the other year." That didn't make Merida feel any more confident — there were still the black chicken feathers to contend with, although there had been no sign of them in the forest. Jack hissed suddenly as he came to a halt in a tree. Merida ducked behind it as Emma floated up to her brother before they peered around into the next clearing.

There, standing on four crooked chicken-legs, was a small shack that barely qualified as a house. Around it, tangled tree branches swished and snatched threateningly; while the door creaked loudly.

"There it is," Jack muttered. "The lion's den itself."

"If it's werenae for the legs and the garden job, it might qualify as a nice little Wendy House," Merida shrugged. "Initiate Operation Break In, then?"

"Emma, you got a ribbon?" Jack whispered. Emma nodded and dug a pretty ice-blue ribbon from her pocket. "I've got the bread and butter…"

"An' I've got the bacon rashers," Merida checked. "It was good of your mum to get these for us." Jack smiled in agreement and gave his sister the signal, all the while gripping his staff tightly just in case things got dicey.

As soon as Emma got close the branches began snatching at her. Merida could hear Jack's breath hitching but the girl was nimble and quick and deftly tied a bow into the twigs with the ribbon. As she did, the branches calmed down and retreated away from the young spirit gently, as if taking a step back to admire its new accessory.

"Wow…I didn't expect that to actually work," Emma blinked in surprise. "I mean, I know practically every fairytale has some element of truth to them but I wasn't expecting it to be so accurate."

"I'll admit it, neither did I," Jack said. "Especially seeing as there are multiple stories about the Baba Yaga."

"So you hatched this plan on a _hunch_?" Merida snapped.

"Hey, let's count ourselves lucky it followed this version of the fairytale and not the one where she has two sisters that are also called 'Baba Yaga'," Jack protested. "I'll get the door."

Before Merida could berate him any further, Jack flew over to the door to the hut — he remembered in the fairytale that the door was supposed to act as an alarm of sorts for escaping victims of the witch. Luckily, Sandy had set a steady stream of golden Dreamsand into the hut which was hopefully keeping her asleep, but Jack did not want to take any chances with the door.

Working swiftly and praying that the butter hadn't frozen solid in his hands, Jack began rubbing the yellow substance onto the door's hinges, all the while making sure that he was well out of sight of the doorway from the inside. However, the butter was still firm and not serving well as a hinge lubricant.

"Hot-Head," Jack hissed. Merida pouted at him but nonetheless came over when he beckoned. "Melt my ice — the butter needs to be warmer."

"You sure?" Merida asked. Summer and Winter were opposite in many ways, including the fact that Merida could adjust heat to make water warmer whilst Jack made things colder. It seemed strange that, in some senses they could work with the same element but different aspects of it. But Merida was all too aware of the fact that Jack did not do well with heat.

"I'll be fine," Jack reassured. "Now help me with this breaking and entering."

Merida eventually complied, warming the frost that dusted Jack's skin as gently and carefully as she could. As the frost melted, she cupped her own hands to catch it, creating a small pool which Jack began to heat the butter over until it was pliable enough to use as a decent lubricant.

"Thanks," Jack whispered, rubbing the butter into the hinges until they fell silent. As they did, the trio crept into the hut. It was just like Jack remembered — eerily homely, with the weaving loom and kitchen and a bed behind a screen. As they entered, two figures stirred: a black cat and a dog.

"Ah!" Emma exclaimed softly. "There's the cat and dog!" Jack knelt down gently and dug the bread rolls out of his cloak, just as Merida followed suit and pulled out the bacon rashers. Cautiously, they held them out for the dog and the cat who initially sniffed the food suspiciously before they looked up at the trio with what looked like gratitude in their eyes.

"There you go," Merida whispered as the dog began chewing at the bacon. The cat began nibbling at the bread as Jack scratched it behind the ears, smiling as it begun to purr. All the while, there wasn't even so much of a stir coming from the bed as Sandy's Dreamsand kept Baba 'Valka' Yaga counting sheep.

With the animals suitably tamed, the door silenced and the trees calmed, the trio began to search the hut.

"So, what're we lookin' for?" Merida whispered.

"You check her cauldron…" Jack began.

"Mortar," Emma corrected.

"Same difference," Jack hissed. "When I was here last, just before your accidents, I saw your faces in it. There might be something in there."

"Alright," Merida nodded. "You two gonna look in her books, or somethin'?"

"It won't hurt, I guess," Emma shrugged. "Melt Jack's ice if you find something."

"Hey!"

Merida chuckled at Emma's little quip — even as an Aide she wasn't above shooting sibling-insults at her brother. Even with the animals occupied with food and all other security measures disabled, she still tiptoed around the hut, hoping that there weren't any stray creaky floorboards ("Hey, it's not my fault you're the only one out of us Four who can't fly.") as she went over to the mortar. There was a cloudy substance swirling inside it, with faded faces barely visible inside. Squinting, Merida could make out the Nordic Blonde face of Astrid, as well as the goateed Eugene.

"She really 'as been keeping tabs on us," she muttered to herself. "She's done 'er research, tha's for sure."

Merida kept searching the mortar intently, seeing if she could spot any sign of the one who could be tied to her. There was one other face, framed with long brunette hair. It was female, and somehow looked older than the others.

Merida was stunned. The face was fuzzy, but she could control water, couldn't she? Focusing her energies, she waved her hand over the surface of the substance in the mortar. The substance shimmered and smoothed to a glass-like surface, almost mirror-like. The face cleared and Merida froze.

The face was that of a more mature woman with deep brunette hair and hazel eyes, hair streaked with a single lock of grey.

The face belonged to Elinor Dunbroch.

"Mum?" Merida murmured in stunned shock. Her mother was her Aide? Why had the memories within the Seeing Lake shown her a bear? Had something happened when she was a Medieval Scottish princess? Magic had still been a part of the world then, right? Had something happened to the Elinor of that lifetime?

Merida's musing was interrupted when the substance swirled again, this time showing a new face. This one was also a more mature woman, and also another familiar face.

It was familiar because not long ago Merida had been fighting it.

"Hello?" an echoey voice sounded from the depths of the basin. "Can anyone hear me?"

"Jack!" Merida hissed. Jack and Emma shot over.

"What is it?" Emma whispered but Jack had already seen what Merida had seen.

"Isn't that…?" he stammered.

"Valka…" Merida whispered. The woman's face kept crying out.

"Please! Help me! My son… He's in danger! I need to help him!" she begged.

"So she's still in there," Merida muttered. "Hiccup was right after all." Jack gave his friend a stern look.

"If we can break the Baba Yaga's hold over her, we might be able to get her back," he promised. "We'll tell Hiccup about this when we meet up at the statue. Did you find your Aide?" Merida nodded.

"It's my mum…" she said softly. "I…I never expected that. Hiccup and Astrid are so close with Astrid and Eugene, so are you an' Em," she added. "But me and Mum…we've no' exactly been close since I was small."

"It's not necessarily just relationships in this life that defines things," Jack explained. "Maybe you were closer in your previous mortal life?"

"If the Seeing Lake was anything to go by, she somehow turned into a bear!" Merida hissed. There was a sound of stirring so she pulled Jack and Emma back out of the house. They couldn't risk being seen. Thankfully, the tree was still preoccupied with its new ribbon and didn't seem to notice them, or didn't bother, so they were able to travel a fair distance away from the house before they deemed it safe enough to continue the conversation.

"You were saying something about your mom turning into a bear?" Jack winced.

"I donnae have the full details of what 'appened," Merida shrugged.

"Maybe you helped her get back to normal?" Emma suggested. "Either way, she's another Constant. She might just be the best chance of being your Aide at this point." Merida sighed. The young girl had a point — at any rate, if her mother was showing up in the Baba Yaga's mortar, then she was nonetheless in danger. She had to find her.

"Fine," she sighed. "I'll find her and try to see if I can get her to see me. I'll meet you guys at the statue."

Jack and Emma wished Merida luck as she jumped into a puddle of melted snow to teleport back into town at a quick pace. In the meantime, they decided to track down the rest of the Guardians to report their findings, unaware that back in the house in the woods the Baba Yaga had woken up in a furious rage to find that her security measures had betrayed her and let her prey slip right from her grasp.

* * *

Merida had already been to her house, only to find that although her father and three brothers were inside her mother had been nowhere to be found in there. She'd overheard a snippet of conversation that suggested that Elinor was at the hospital visiting her comatose daughter — remembering what had been said about the Baba Yaga despising hospitals, Merida was happy in the knowledge that her mother was safe for now but she still had to move quickly.

With a small trail of wisps following her as she skimmed through the town, Merida bit her lip as she spotted Rapunzel tear down an alley — hopefully the girl could take of whatever needed taking care of without her help. Knowing how well she could handle a frying pan, Merida wasn't overly worried about her friend. Moving her gaze to the hospital nearby, she spotted a single window with a light still shining inside.

"Please be her, please be her…" the redhead prayed under her breath as she began scanning the building for a way up — she eventually spotted a drainpipe. Turning to the Wisps, she indicated the window. "Go ahead an' make sure tha's open, will you?" she asked. Three glowing balls of blue light shot up towards the window, unseen by the passersby in the streets and anyone who might still be around, as Merida began carefully climbing up the drainpipe on the side of the building.

As she reached the window with the light shining through it, Merida froze for a moment. The light was coming from a singular bedside, but it wasn't in one of the normal patient wards. Through the window, Merida could see life support machines, three of which were occupied.

She could see Hiccup's face, horribly burned and missing most of his hair.

She could see Rapunzel's brunette pixie crop, matted from lack of care and her body wrapped in a cast.

She could see her own tangled mane of red, with most of what was visible of her body wrapped in bandages.

They were all in bad shape, and they had mere hours to be saved.

Merida's attention stayed on her bedside, as that was where the light was coming from. Creeping through the opened window and closing it before anyone noticed, she walked over, unseen, to jin the visitor at her own bedside.

Elinor Dunbroch.

"Merida…" the woman whispered. "The doctors…are telling us all that we have to hope for the best tomorrow," she sobbed, tears clogging her throat. Merida stood by with her own heart breaking. "They don't know…if you're going to wake up. So they've told us to…to prepare for the worst."

Merida could see her mother's distraught face, stained with tears and hazel eyes bloodshot from crying.

"I'm so sorry, my dear," Elinor continued. "I wish that…I wish the last time we spoke hadn't happened the way it did." Merida remembered. The last time she'd spoken to her mother had been their argument following the second round of the dance contest. It seemed so long ago, and yet still rang so clear in her memory. Her heart was aching with a regret that she'd somehow repressed for all these weeks.

"Mum…I'm here," she muttered almost desperately. "How can I get you to see…?"

"We miss you so much, my Noble Maiden Fair," Elinor said softly, stroking the matted hair on her daughter's head. Merida's heart panged — she remembered the lullaby that her mother would sing her whenever there was a thunderstorm (she'd been scared of lightning as a child): it had been called _Noble Maiden Fair_. She remembered the stories that her mother used to tell her: stories of magic and wonder. Stories of little spirits that would guide those who believed to their Fate…

Merida froze. The spirits her mother had told her stories about were _Wisps_. She remembered asking her mother if she believed in them… At the time, Elinor had said 'yes'.

"Goodbye, Merida," Elinor whispered as she placed one last kiss on her daughter's forehead. Merida began to panic — the minute Elinor stepped outside the hospital, she would be at risk of being attacked by the Baba Yaga's magic…and the witch wouldn't sleep forever, even under Sandy's power. She had to work quick…but Elinor was an adult. Hadn't there been something about anyone above the age of eighteen not being able to see the supernatural even if they _did_ believe?

But hadn't someone mentioned something about Wisps being rebels?

"Go!" Merida hissed at the floating smoky-blue lights by her side. They shot after Elinor, who by now had reached the door but something made her stop in her tracks. Merida took a deep breath and began manipulating the Wisps almost like a puppeteer, making them form shapes and move in ways that she felt necessary to get her mother's attention.

* * *

A burst of blue light flitted in and out of Elinor's vision and she gasped slightly, spinning back around into the ward. She had to be seeing things…for a moment she thought she'd seen…

There it went again, hovering by her daughter's bedside. Elinor's eyes widened in surprise — that light had been cyan blue, and wispy like smoke. She watched closely as it appeared again, in a humanoid silhouette with an oversized head and tiny arms, with no visible legs.

Elinor had heard tales of these creatures as a child, and had passed those stories on to her daughter. All her life, she had believed in some form of magic, although her husband teased her constantly about it. There was no mistaking those creatures.

That was a Will o' Wisp.

Elinor had believed in these guiding lights since she was a child, and had always believed that she'd seen some in and around her childhood home. As soon as she saw the one by her daughter's bedside, she felt drawn back into the room as more of the lights began to appear. They all remained by her daughter's still, lifeless body, as if leading her back to her side.

"Merida?"

* * *

Merida heaved a small sigh of relief — her mother had seen the Wisps. She was heading back into the room.

Knowing that this was her only chance, Merida directed the Wisps into different shapes than their usual candle-like silhouettes. One of them shaped itself into what looked like a young girl, and another into a woman — a mother and child.

More specifically, Elinor and Merida.

* * *

Elinor's breath hitched as she saw the Wisps change shape into what was undeniably her and her daughter when she had been small. They were happy, chasing each other around an unseen glen and dancing around an imaginary field. Elinor's face broke into a nostalgic smile as she laughed at the memory of happy times, tears starting to leak from her hazel eyes as the Wisps showed Merida and her throughout her daughter's life.

Every hug.

Every kiss.

Every laugh.

* * *

Merida found herself crying. She'd delved into the happiest memories she could think of, and the Wisps reacted as they came back to her. She realised exactly how close she'd been to her mother throughout her life, and began to see exactly why the woman was her Aide instead of perhaps her father. She felt horrible for the way she'd behaved towards her mother…she missed her more than she realised.

"I'm…I'm so sorry, Mum…" the redhead choked as a sob got caught in her throat. The Wisps began dancing around Elinor, making her reach out like a playful child as if to touch the magic Merida knew her mother to have believed in almost her whole life. As the woman's hand caught the blue spirits, it scattered like tiny fireworks, creating river-like ribbons of blue and red light intermingling with each other.

"I love you so much…" Merida whispered to herself.

* * *

 _"_ _I love you so much…"_

Elinor's silent crying caught itself in a hiccough as she heard the voice, barely louder than a whisper. She watched the Wisps dance around her in ribbons of light, and heard the whisper repeat itself over and over.

She knew that voice.

"Merida?" she murmured, turning back towards her daughter's bedside.

* * *

Merida gasped sharply. The way her mother had just said her name… It was a if…

"Wha…? You just said… You said that as if you'd… You said…"

Merida watched as her mother turned around. Initially, the woman's gaze fell on the bed where her mortal body lay, but it quickly moved upwards towards the window where Merida was sitting.

As their eyes met, Elinor's face lit up with shock and awe.

"Merida?!" she gasped. Merida hopped off the windowsill and began walking over. There it was again — that tone of voice that suggested that Elinor had heard her and knew she was there.

"You said it tha' way again!" Merida spluttered, tripping over her words. "You…said it like you heard me…"

Elinor's hands had drifted to her mouth, unable to believe was she was seeing but nonetheless in utter amazement that she was seeing it.

Wait…

"Can…Mum, can you hear me?" Merida asked softly. Elinor replied with a small nod as she hands began to lower themselves away from her face. Merida's eyes lit up and not from the lights given off by the Wisps. "Can… Can you see me?"

Elinor nodded again. As she did, Merida's face broke into the biggest smile it had ever made since she had received her acceptance letter to Moonstone Academy.

"Oh, my Go… You see me!" she cried with joy. "Mum! You can see me!"

Overjoyed, Merida ran into her mother's arms and began to cry tears she didn't even realise she was holding back. In return, Elinor wrapped her arms protectively around the now-solid spirit of her daughter and planted as many kisses she could on her face and into her wild curls of red.

"How's this possible?" Elinor sobbed, unable to keep the happiness out of her voice.

"M…magic…" Merida replied. "It's real, Mum…"

It felt like an age before the two finally separated from their embrace and Merida could finally explain the situation to her mother. Amazingly, Elinor was astonishingly accepting of her daughter's explanation — this was probably helped by the fact that she had long been a believer in the existence of some form of magic.

No manner of explanation could stop either from apologising profusely to the other about their relationship as mother and daughter before the accident. But as Elinor promised to support her daughter in whatever path she chose in life and Merida promised to listen to her mother, they knew that they could at least start trying to make things better.

"So how're you planning to defeat this… Baba Yaga?" Elinor asked, casting a nervous look at the mortal body of her daughter — no amount of belief was going to change how strange it was to also have her daughter's spirit sitting right next to her.

"I need your help, Mum," Merida said in reply. "All of us… Rapunzel, Hiccup, Jack and I…we're the new Season Spirits. We've got 'elpers called Aides an' you're apparently mine." Elinor asked how she could help, or indeed any of the Aides. "You keep our powers in check and also somehow amplify them, I guess? We've barely got any control over all…this…" Merida rambled as she poked a nearby glass of water, the water in which then proceeded to snake around her wrist like a ribbon. "…so we cannae exactly go full out in case we throw all nature outta whack, but we need to be stronger in order to put things right."

Elinor nodded in understanding and brought her daughter into another hug. Although neither of them knew exactly what to do, she could at least let her know that she was going to be by there side regardless of what was going to happen.

For now, she had her daughter back. And she was going to do everything in her power to get her back completely.


	38. Pre-Battle Prep

_**Pre-Battle Prep:**_

"Oh, _come on_!" Jack yelled by the statue of Theodore Burgess. "You have _got_ to be _kidding_ me!" he added as Hiccup and Toothless landed nearby — Astrid wasn't accompanying them in the way that Jack had expected. " _Another_ dragon in the party? _Seriously_?"

"I knew you were gonna react that way, but the way me and m'lady _both_ see it…" Hiccup shot back dryly. "The more firepower the better." Astrid eyed Jack curiously as she hopped off her own dragon — bright blue and parrotlike.

"Didn't see you as the armour type," she remarked. Jack tugged at his cape, held onto his shoulders by the armour plates.

"Neither did I, but the look's grown on me," he shrugged. "That doesn't answer my question about the dragon!" Astrid argued that Jack hadn't asked an actual question but nonetheless introduced her dragon as Stormfly. Jack was none too happy to find out from Hiccup that it apparently had one the hottest fire out of all the dragons.

"Well, I think she looks beautiful," another voice piped up — it was Rapunzel, closely followed by Eugene. Astrid grinned in thanks and shot a mug smirk in Jack's direction, much to the snow spirit's chagrin.

"How'd you take all this?" Eugene asked Astrid as he walked over.

"Considering that we got chased down by this torrent of black feathers that were apparently trying to kill me…" Astrid began, listing things off her fingers. "…then proceeded to dive into a lake which emerged in the past or something…"

"Okay, admittedly things could have gone a _lot_ better…" Hiccup muttered.

"Not too badly, really," Astrid finished, ignoring Hiccup who proceeded to point out protestingly that she had nearly broken his nose and had practically all but screamed in his face when he'd tried explaining things to her.

"Can you blame me?"

"No…"

"You've both taken things remarkably well," a soft voice sounded, causing everyone to jump out of their skins. Astrid and Eugene had collective heart attacks when they saw the source: a woman with jet black hair clothed in a dress made from leaves, flowers, water and fire. They'd seen her human form on a few occasions when they'd visited Jack's house…

"Emily-Jane?" Astrid was the first to speak.

"Jack, is that your aunt?" Eugene asked quietly.

"I posed as Jack's aunt to keep an eye on him while he attended your school," the woman corrected before Jack had a chance to speak. "Yes, my name is Emily-Jane, but you may know me by another: Mother Nature."

"Just when I thought I'd seen everything…" Astrid muttered. Hiccup caught onto something.

"So our Aides can see all supernatural spirits now?" he asked. "Now that they've seen us?" Mother Nature nodded.

"Your meetings triggered an innate ability for a mortal to see all manner of mythological beings, regardless of belief," she explained. "It is an ability that belongs to very few, much less in this day and age."

"I'd better not start seeing ghosts round every corner, I'm just saying," Eugene cut in.

"Contrary to what most tales of hauntings would say…" Mother Nature began. "…ghosts don't tend to linger for long. If they do, they have me and the Reaper to answer to."

Considering how no one wanted to get on Mother Nature's bad side, they could only imagine what the Reaper would be like when it came to the dead stepping out of line. A shiver went around the group.

"Say, has anyone seen Merida?" Emma asked at her brother's side. "Jack and I haven't seen her since we left the Baba Yaga's house."

"How did that go, by the way?" Rapunzel asked.

"Her Aide's her mother," Jack explained. "And Baba Yaga was out like a light with the Dreamsand, plus the security distractions worked a treat."

"Dang," Hiccup whistled dryly, although he couldn't deny that he was impressed.

"Speakin' of mothers…" a heavily accented voice piped up behind the group. "…we've go' somethin' to tell you abou' yours, Hiccup."

Everyone spun around and heaved a collective sigh of relief upon seeing Merida, closely followed by Elinor. The woman made herself acquainted with the other Aides as well as Mother Nature while Merida ran over to Hiccup.

"What about my mom?" Hiccup asked, his eyes going wide with a mixture of fear and hope.

"The Baba Yaga's jus' snatched 'er body," Merida explained. "Your real mum's still in there. We pull this off tonight, we've go' a chance of gettin' 'er back for you."

"Wait… _Val's_ this Baba Yaga you've been telling us about?" Astrid spluttered. "Hiccup's mother?"

"Did you not 'ear wha' I just said?" Merida snapped. "She's still there!"

"Merida's right," Jack confirmed. "It's like her spirit's been buried or hidden, but she was able to communicate with us through the mortar."

"You talked to her?!" Hiccup found his voice, although it squeaked loudly.

"It was only one-way," Merida shrugged. "But she's definitely there. Scared, yes. But…you were right, Hiccup," she said, her voice heavy with apology. "There's a chance of getting through to her. We beat the Baba Yaga…we might be able to…"

She was cut off as Hiccup suddenly pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face into a mane of red curls. Merida squeaked as she was pulled into the hug but smiled softly and gently hugged her friend back as she heard the muffled sobs and whispers of thanks coming from him.

The hug was broken and the group convened. As the time was checked, they reckoned that they had until possibly eight in the morning before the life-support plugs would be pulled. That left them with precious hours to figure out what they were going to do.

"As Aides, what is it that we can do to help?" Elinor asked.

"Emma is able to use the Wind to her advantage," Mother Nature replied. "But she, like Jack, is a spirit. You three, however…" she winced, looking at Astrid, Eugene and Elinor. "…you are still mortal."

"I've got a dragon?" Astrid pointed out.

"Do you know how to fly?"

"She does," Hiccup confirmed quickly. Everyone gave him a pointed look — given how long it had taken him to learn how to fly with Toothless, they were skeptical that Astrid had learned to do the same with Stormfly in a matter of hours. "I think there may or may not have been a knowledge transfer when we ducked into the Seeing Lake," Hiccup shrugged, splaying his palm and letting an orb of bright blue flame tickle his fingers before it flickered out. "Either way, Astrid's a decent flyer."

"I can handle it," Astrid nodded. Mother Nature sighed in resignation.

"Eugene, Elinor, if my knowledge of the Aides is correct, you are the incarnations of the Spirits of the Stars and the Spirit of the Storm," she continued. "Were you not part of the mortal realm, you could tap into their powers. This is not the case…"

"Hang on!" Rapunzel cut in. She twirled her paintbrush in her hand and began doodling some patterns onto the frying pan that had somehow stayed with her the entire time despite not always being visible. "Eugene knows his way around a frying pan, if that's any help?"

"How could that _possibly_ be of any help?" Merida snapped incredulously. Eugene also looked confused — okay, when he'd become Rapunzel's friend, he sometimes used one of her mother's frying pans in place of a toy sword whenever he was playing with Rapunzel, and could use it as well as any fencer could use a foil.

"I think in one of our last lives he had a fencing match with a horse and used a frying pan," Rapunzel replied. "The horse won but he was still able to hold his own."

"A horse?!" Hiccup spluttered.

"And I thought you sounded crazy," Astrid muttered. Eugene still looked skeptical as Rapunzel handed the frying pan over, now decorated with shimmering patterns that reminded him of shooting stars.

"So Astrid gets a dragon and you're giving me a be-jazzled cooking utensil as a weapon?" he noted dryly.

"That is exactly what I'm giving you," Rapunzel replied with equal levels of sarcasm as she shoved the frying pan into Eugene's hands. "You'll thank me later." Merida, in the meantime, had turned to face her mother.

"'fraid I cannae give you much more than the Wisps as support," the redhead winced. "I donnae know wha' else I can give you." Elinor placed a reassuring hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"You don't need to," she smiled gently. "We'll figure something out. Together, this time."

Mother Nature watched as the Four began talking to their Aides about what they wanted them to do in the battle that was to come. There were the expected warnings to stay out of too much danger, as well as the 'don't risk your lives here' spiels, and it saddened Emily-Jane Pitchiner to see these people, who'd probably known peace their entire lives, to be planning for a conflict, the outcome of which determined the fate of their lives. Emily-Jane had been around for a long time, and she'd seen wars bring ruin to entire civilisations; tear the very relationship between Man and Magic apart.

She wished nothing more than for the best possible outcome for these people.

As the group discussed plans and gave their Aides crash courses in helping them out with their powers, Mother Nature's attention was caught by a buzz of wings, rustling of sand, the thud of large feet on the ground and the rattle of a rickety old sleigh landing nearby.

"What took you four so long?" she asked.

"We got held up…" Tooth grimaced, tugging a black feather from her head piece as Baby Tooth hovered nervously by her ear.

"AH!" Astrid suddenly shrieked. Elinor and Eugene soon followed suit.

"Crikey," Bunny remarked. "You'd think they'd never seen a man in a red suit before, eh, North?"

"Are we missing the bunny in the room, Cottontail?" Jack deadpanned.

"Or the glowing golden sand-person and the bird lady," Hiccup added with an apologetic glance towards Tooth and Sandy. "I'm sorry — I'm still not used to that."

"It's takes some getting used to," Tooth shrugged in acceptance. Sandy gave the boy a reassuring smile and a thumbs up to show that he wasn't offended by the comment.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Eugene gaped. Rapunzel quickly ran introductions and by the time she was finished Elinor looked as if she was getting a headache, Eugene's jaw was practically on the ground and Astrid's eyes were taking up half of her head.

"Is good to have found you safe and unharmed," North beamed gently. "Baba Yaga was in quite state when we ran into."

"Well, Jack and I kinda broke into her house," Merida winced apologetically.

"Not to mention, _completely_ derailed her security system," Jack added.

"What they're _trying_ to say is, 'Sorry you had to deal with that'," Hiccup sighed dryly. "How long do you reckon we have before she gets here?"

"Very little time," a smooth voice sounded. The Guardians of Childhood flinched as Pitch emerged from the shadows, Jack included, as well as Elinor, Eugene and Astrid, but Mother Nature, Hiccup, and the remaining two girls greeted him with a curt nod. "It was quite the display of power she showed earlier, and I have a suspicion she was holding back a little while ago." He eyed the three non-spirit Aides with an ice cold eye, smirking slightly as he realised that they could see him and were visibly nervous around him. "I trust you three can hold your own?"

"They'll be fine, Father," Mother Nature said shortly. "No need to make them nervous before we've even started the fight." Pitch scoffed slightly but otherwise ignored his daughter's comment.

"At least tell me someone has a plan?" he asked.

"I've got a plan," Hiccup said firmly. Everyone's eyes suddenly shot towards him

"Since when did you come up with a plan?" Eugene asked. "In…what? The last five seconds?"

"I _have_ a plan," Hiccup reaffirmed.

"First off, you're copying me from when I said _I_ had a plan," Jack snapped.

"It's not _that_ unique of a thing to say, Popsicle," Hiccup shot back ("Now _that_ was uncalled for!").

"How much of a plan do you _actually_ have, Hiccup?" Astrid asked. This time, Hiccup spent a little longer thinking before answering.

"Most of a plan," he said. "Actually, probably not much more than a concept…" he admitted sheepishly.

"How does that help us?" Bunny huffed.

"It's a hunch," Hiccup said. "A hunch helped us find Merida's Aide as well as my mom…my _real_ mom, that is," he continued, shooting a glance around the group. "And it's still based on the…"

"What?"

A snarl caused the entire group to spin on their heels (or nearly hit someone in the face with their wings, as was the case with Tooth whose iridescent wings nearly slapped North as she spun around). A deeper chill was sent through the already cold and chilly night, with the frosty moon suddenly becoming icy rather than a welcome beacon of light.

Surrounded by feathers that billowed and swirled like a black fire, stood the Baba Yaga. She wore the face of Valeria 'Valka' Haddock, and yet her cold grey eyes reflected none of the motherly warmth the woman had been known for. By her side hovered her pestle and mortar and when she flashed the group a sinister smile, her teeth gleamed grey in the moonlight.

"What is this hunch of yours based on, boy?" she asked, almost mockingly. Hiccup bristled but kept his mouth shut as he subconsciously held out an arm to shield Astrid. Rapunzel and Merida had done the same for Eugene and Elinor, while Jack was already in a combative stance with Emma at his side — the girl's now-white hair was billowing in her own whirlwind.

"We can do this one of two ways, Baba Yaga," Pitch Black spoke, drawing himself up to his full height as his Nightmares gathered around him. "The easy way: where you relinquish the mortal whose body you have unlawfully snatched from its rightful realm, return these youngsters to their normal selves and lives, and come peacefully with me back to the Shadows; or the hard way, where we force you to do so whether you want to or not."

"When you put it that way, O, Mighty King of Shadows…" the Baba Yaga smirked mockingly. "…You make the hard way sound like so much more fun." Her smile was replaced by a scornful glare, her teeth bared like a snarling wolf. "I was never one to answer to authority, let alone one who cannot even control his own subjects."

Pitch hissed audibly and the Nightmares rustled violently behind him. The Baba Yaga ignored this and turned her gaze to Jack — as she saw him, her glare was replaced by a look of dry, mocking disappointment.

"Speaking of fun, look what the Wind blew in," she said. Jack snarled back and Emma tried her best to put on a brave face, but she was clearly terrified. "It's a shame, really. You would have made a nice dessert."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Jack snapped.

"Looks like we're doing this the hard way whether we like it or not," Tooth muttered. There was a murmur of agreement around the group as they prepared to fight (which included Astrid jumping onto Stormfly's back with all due haste), but they were stopped in their tracks before they even had a chance to move a single step.

Hiccup had broken from the ranks and was walking calmly towards the Baba Yaga, who herself was taken aback by the movement. Astrid hissed for him to come back and Merida made a grab for him and he walked past her, but narrowly missed. Jack watched his friend's left hand intently for any sign of Inferno, but there wasn't so much as a flicker of green fire to suggest that Hiccup was planning to summon it.

Instead, he walked right up to the Baba Yaga. His tall and lanky build meant that he was nearly eye level with her, shorter by an inch at the most. Their eyes met: forest green and steel grey. Not a single person made a move.

The Baba Yaga hesitated. It would be so easy. The Spirit of Autumn…the Guardian of Knowledge and Change…was at point blank range from her. She could destroy him right now… Why was she hesitating?

It was that very hesitation that Hiccup had been counting on. Unblinking and unflinching, he maintained eye contact with the woman who stood before him, searching those eyes for something…anything…

It was in the witch's hesitation that he found what he was looking for: the briefest flash of green-blue that were reminiscent of the sea; and an expression of pride and wonder rather than malice across the woman's face.

If the Baba Yaga had hesitated in that moment to destroy the half-spirit in front of her, Hiccup did not hesitate to throw his arms her and hug her as tightly to his chest as he was physically able.

A screech loud enough to rival a siren and more blood-curdling than a banshee ripped through the night as the feathers exploded into a raging fury around Hiccup and the Baba Yaga. The other Guardians, as well as the Aides, screamed in terror for their friend, now unseen in the swirling mass of black. After what felt like an age, when it may have in fact been a mere matter of minutes, the feathers exploded outwards again.

The sight that was revealed was, much to everyone's relief and amazement, not that of merely the Baba Yaga standing over a destroyed Hiccup. Quite the contrary. Hiccup was kneeling on the ground, cradling something in his arms — the form of a collapsed woman, too exhausted to stand. Astrid was the first to run over, leaping off of Stormfly's back and racing to her friend's side in a matter of a few strides. She gasped in amazement when she saw who it was in Hiccup's arms.

With auburn-brown hair streaked lightly with grey tied into a long plait behind her neck, wearing a long-sleeved singed shirt, jeans with holes burned through the knees and leather boots that looked like they'd seen better days, was Valeria 'Valka' Haddock. Astrid quickly took the woman from Hiccup's arms as she began to stir: the eyes that opened weren't the steel grey irises of the Baba Yaga, but the sea-green ones of the mother Hiccup so sorely missed.

"As…trid?" the woman murmured weakly as she saw the young Nordic Blonde's face above hers. Astrid broke into a relieved smile, as did Hiccup who couldn't help but reach out a hand…

It landed solidly on his mother's shoulder.

"Hic…cup?"

"Mom?" Hiccup whispered in astonishment. The feeling was shared by every Guardian, Spirit and human who stood behind him.

"She's alive!" Rapunzel gasped with glee.

"She can see him?" Bunny exclaimed. Mother Nature felt a strange warmth, one that she had no memory of feeling…not since before her family had been forced to flee from the Fearlings countless lifetimes ago. Something great…an ancient force…

"What is this power?" she whispered. This woman…this Valka…she had something special of her own. Was that why her body had sustained the Baba Yaga for so long?

A new shriek pierced the calm of the moment as the feathers began swirling once again. Rapunzel, Merida and Jack rushed to Hiccup and Astrid's sides to protect them and the barely conscious Valka from the incoming swarm, but when the feathers parted it wasn't to attack, but rather reveal the true face of the one who'd put them into this mess in the first place.

Bent almost double, so thin that she was practically skin and bones, more crooked and twisted than the oldest and most gnarled elm tree in the forest, with wispy white hair that was rapidly thinning, a hook nose, steely ice-grey eyes, wearing what barely classified as clothes and shoes, and with a snarl that displayed ugly blackened iron teeth, was the Baba Yaga herself. Grandma Chickenlegs in her true form.

"Astrid…" Jack muttered. Astrid didn't even need to be told.

"I'll get Val to the hospital," she nodded.


	39. Showdown

_**Showdown:**_

The screeches coming from the Baba Yaga were so incomprehensible that for a moment, everyone was frozen in place in terrified confusion. Fortunately, Toothless moved to knock those in immediate danger out of harm's way as the enraged Baba Yaga sent a wave of feathers down with the force of a wrecking ball.

"BRATS!" the wizened hag shrieked as the group scattered. Jack couldn't help but wonder if the witch seriously couldn't come up with a better insult than that. He wasn't even sure if he'd heard that one used in this kind of context since the late 1800s. Tendrils of feathers snaked furiously after each of the spirits and mortals involved, scattering them as they moved to avoid them.

"Hiccup! Now might be a good time to tell us that plan of yours!" Jack shouted over the chaos, taking every opportunity he could to freeze the feathers in place. There was a yelp as Hiccup and Toothless looped to avoid the Baba Yaga's magic.

"Uh… don't get hit for now…WHOA!" he cried, summoning Endeavour to defend himself while Toothless let off a panicked blast of blue fire.

"I'm not sure if you even HAVE a plan!" Merida shrieked as she teleported from one puddle to the next, hand clasped around her mother's wrist.

"I HAVE a plan!" Hiccup protested.

"THEN HURRY UP!" Eugene yelled, swinging the frying pan in any direction that seemed like it had a chance of working. A Nightmare collided with a column of feathers, sending them scattering as Pitch charged forward.

"Retreat and regroup!" the Nightmare King ordered. "Focus on the Baba Yaga — we'll take care of the rest."

Hiccup and the girls nodded and shot off, while Jack muttered something that sounded distinctly like "I can't believe I'm taking orders from the Boogeyman…" before following. As the group split from the fight and began grouping, Astrid rejoined them on Stormfly.

"She safe?" Hiccup asked.

"Dropped her off at the hospital," Astrid panted. "You would not believe their faces when they saw me taking her in."

"It's a good thing they couldn't see Stormfly, otherwise you'd have even more explaining to do," Hiccup grumbled.

"WATCH OUT!" Rapunzel shrieked in a manner very similar to a certain video game sidekick as she swung a rope of hair at the Baba Yaga. The team scattered once more as Hiccup and Astrid kept the witch at bay with their dragons.

"Hiccup! Plan! Now!" Jack yelled.

"Draw her away from town!" Hiccup shouted. "We're gonna need a lot of room for this one."

The team obliged, heading in the opposite direction of Burgess, through the forest and to an open field running alongside a highway. All the while, the Baba Yaga kept up her pursuit using her pestle and mortar of all things as a mode of transportation. _Just like the fairytales,_ Rapunzel thought to herself as she streaked across the top of the trees on her starboard, Eugene clinging to her to make sure he didn't fall off (Rapunzel _had_ been practising with him and the starboard seemed to have its own gravity, so she didn't know why he was still worried). Merida and Elinor followed below, hopping from snow puddle to snow puddle as Jack and Emma provided them; and Hiccup and Astrid flanked with the dragons, making sure that the fire didn't come into contact with the vegetation and cause an all-too-noticeable forest fire.

"Alright, we've got her attention," Merida muttered.

"What the heck was Step Two?" Emma shouted. All the while, the Baba Yaga kept shrieking incoherently in the background. Hiccup turned to face Merida and Elinor.

"We need a river," he said simply. "A big one."

"Reckon that'll stop 'er?" Merida yelled.

"It's worth a shot," Elinor decided, holding her daughter's hand as they skid to a halt, facing the Baba Yaga head on. "Do your thing, dear! I'm right behind you!"

Merida nodded and put all of her focus into the move. Water began bubbling from the ground under her feet until it began to surge from beneath her, torrenting along the ground in a contained path that Merida was forcing it to take. Its direction made it collide with Grandma Chickenlegs, sending her tumbling out of the sky.

"Alright!" Rapunzel shouted.

"Nice one, Firecracker!" Jack grinned. Merida looked incredibly pleased with herself and kept the water coming until the strain became too much for her to handle. The water kept running and eventually trickling to a stop. However, when the water vanished the sight that greeted the team wasn't exactly what they were hoping to see.

"Thank you for the lovely drink, _dearies_ ," the Baba Yaga sneered, licking her lips as water dripped from it. She bore her iron teeth, sharper than needles, in a menacing snarl. "I needed something to whet my appetite."

A dead silence fell over the group.

"Okay, now _that_ was just awful," Emma groaned.

"Welp, tha' didnae work!" Merida snapped as she pulled her mother out of the way of a column of incoming feathers. "Anyone go' a Plan B?"

"I'm working on it!" Hiccup retorted, somersaulting away from an attack before letting Toothless fire back, sending the Baba Yaga momentarily tumbling away.

"Well, hurry it up!" Astrid yelled, her voice dripping with urgency as she checked her wristwatch. "Because you have less than an hour before hospital daylight hours start!"

"Rapunzel!" Hiccup shouted. "Forest! NOW!"

"WHAT'S A FOREST GONNA DO?!" Rapunzel screeched.

"Also, there's one right outside Burgess?" Jack pointed out. "Can't we use that?"

"This needs to be denser than the densest forest on Earth," Hiccup instructed.

"We already sent a river 'er way an' tha' did nothin'!" Merida snapped. "What good's a forest gonna be?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. Goodness, weren't they all told at least one version of this story when they were younger? He knew that Rapunzel had _definitely_ been told, how come she couldn't figure it out?

"Besides, there's not exactly much room out here," Rapunzel pointed out. "There're still cars on the highway — there's no way was can do this without attracting attention." Okay, now Hiccup's patience was wearing thin.

"Well, I have a plan and that plan requires a stupidly dense forest so FIGURE IT OUT!" he shouted.

There was a clang of metal on a skull as Eugene swung the frying pan at the Baba Yaga when she tried making a beeline for Rapunzel, as well as some profanities screamed in both English and German that shall remain unwritten.

"Hiccup, can you _at least_ tell us what you need a forest for?" Astrid asked. Hiccup gave in. What was it with people becoming so dense during a fight?

"In the Grandma Chickenlegs fairytale, the girl threw down a comb that created a forest so thick not even a weasel could pass through it," he explained.

"Yeah, but that's a weasel!" Jack pointed out. "Not a witch with iron teeth!"

"She just drank a river," Hiccup deadpanned.

"I thought we jus' established tha' didnae deter her!" Merida snapped.

"When did we establish that?" Astrid frowned.

"LIKE THREE SECONDS AGO!"

" _Guys_!" Hiccup hissed, his palms flickering with fire that snaked around everyone's heads as he reminded them of something they should have all learned (bar Jack) back when they were young. "What happens to _iron_ when it reacts with _water_?!"

Something clicked in Rapunzel's head.

"Oh!" she nodded slowly. Hiccup face-desked on Toothless' head. Dear _gods_ , how was his team so slow? "Right. I'm on it."

Rapunzel and Eugene headed down for the largest area of open land they could see. Rapunzel knew that her powers wouldn't leave a permanent mark on the world, but it would still be enough to be slightly noticeable — she needed to make sure to keep things to a minimum. Finding a spot on the outskirts of the forest outside Burgess, Rapunzel and Eugene took their own stand against Grandma Chickenlegs as Rapunzel brought up her hands. As she did so, a collection of trees packed as tightly as a bundle of matchsticks sprung from the floor, once more knocking the witch out of her mortar.

"A starter?!" a cackle sounded as the team took a breath on one side of the dense forest, too tall to fly over and with roots too deep to dig under. "You certainly are considerate, _my dears_!"

The team could only freeze and hope for the best as they heard the chomps of enchanted, razor sharp teeth starting to chew through the trunks of the trees. Hiccup grasped Astrid's hand tightly, Jack shielded his sister, Rapunzel and Eugene held each other close, and Merida and Elinor held hands as tightly as they would dare. A tree fell on the other side of the forest, then another, and then…

 _SNAP!_

A resounding shriek echoed through the night, as did the revolting sound of metal breaking. Rapunzel released the magic maintaining the forest to reveal the Baba Yaga crouching on the floor, hands clutching her mouth painfully. No one wanted to even imagine the sight that lay beneath those claws.

"You're coming with us, Grandma," Jack said firmly.

* * *

"You _will_ return them to how they were," Pitch ordered once the Baba Yaga was brought before him. The other Guardians were looking a bit ruffled, and North was still picking black feathers out from his beard, but they were hardly looking worse for wear. The Baba Yaga glared at the ground.

"Moreover, you will _not_ interfere with the affairs of the mortal world _again_ ," Mother Nature snarled. "Nor shall you even _think_ about going near my aides, or so help me I _will_ turn your own trees against you."

"You don't need much more than a ribbon to do that," Jack muttered. "Trust me."

"Fine…" Grandma Chickenlegs growled. "Congratulations… _you win_."

Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel shared a glance. The clock was ticking — they'd defeated the one responsible for getting them into the mess they were in, and yet they were still half-spirits. Why hadn't things been reversed?

"Why's nothing happening?" Hiccup whispered, looking at his hands.

"Turn us back, Witch!" Merida ordered. They had less than half an hour left, if that. The Baba Yaga let out a cackle.

"Did you really think that it would just work like that?" she sneered. "Defeat the Big Bad and everything will go back to normal?" Her laugh rippled through her broken rusted teeth like nails being dragged down a blackboard. "This isn't one of your fairytales. I don't return things. I only take."

"PUT. THEM. BACK!" Mother Nature bellowed, flames starting to flicker from her hair and ribbons of lava beginning to stream down her dress. Every other Guardian, Spirit and human in the vicinity cringed and shrank back in fear, even _Pitch_ , and backed off a few feet. The late winter sun was starting to rise…there was barely any time left.

The Baba Yaga stood crookedly on her feet and turned to face Merida, Hiccup and Rapunzel. She held up a hand towards them — they took defensive stances but still looked hopeful.

"We'll be there when you wake up," Astrid smiled at Hiccup as she began pulling Eugene and Elinor in the direction of the hospital. If things took too long, at least they could argue against the pulling of the plugs to by the teens a bit more time. The Baba Yaga was muttering a hushed incantation under her breath, but things were taking too long for Jack's liking as he stood nearby.

"Hurry up!" he barked, grasping his staff tightly. Grandma Chickenlegs shot him a dark smirk, her black iron teeth rusted and broken in several places.

"Fine."

Without warning, black feathers hammered straight into Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel, sending them flying a good few feet before pinning them to the ground. The trio were crying out for help, but more feathers kept the dragons and other spirits at bay as the Baba Yaga began cackling.

"Like I said," the witch snarled as Jack shouted for his friends, trying and failing to battle his way through the black feathers that clawed at his skin. "This isn't one of your fairytales."

"Nor is it one of yours!"

The voice was a new one, powerful and commanding and so forceful that it stopped the Baba Yaga in her tracks, causing the feathers to dissipate. Jack raced over to his friends as they cleared — they were worse for wear after the unexpected attack, bruised, cut and severely weakened. His attention wasn't on them for long as he faced the new arrival.

"You're kidding me…" he mumbled.

A woman stood on the back of a dragon, one larger than both Stormfly and Toothless with an owl-like look to him and with four wings beating powerfully against his side. The woman stood proudly like a warrior queen on his back, flames swirling around her and a staff that she held at her side. Her eyes were a bright blue-green that danced with light, and her hair was long and a rich auburn-brown with a streak of white.

"You…!" Grandma Chickenlegs gasped in shock as the woman pointed her staff towards her.

"You messed with the wrong mother," she snarled as her dragon let loose a torrent of fire towards the witch. "Leave them alone!"

The Baba Yaga shrieked as the fire engulfed her. As they did, the remaining feathers were incinerated, stripping the witch of the last of her power. When the flames cleared, the Baba Yaga was little more than a cowering ball of terror. The woman on the back of the dragon faced Pitch who was in as much shock as everyone else.

"Take her back to the Shadows," she instructed. "Make sure she never leaves again." Pitch could only nod as he summoned some Nightmares which surrounded the cowering Baba Yaga. They circled her and wrapped tendrils of sand around her wrists and ankles, dragging her kicking and screaming towards the forest where Jack knew an entrance to the Boogeyman's lair would be. Only once the witch was gone did anyone turn to face the newcomer and address her.

"You're…" Tooth breathed in amazement. Hiccup croaked from the ground, badly injured and his leg torn away.

"Mom?" he whispered. Valeria 'Valka' Haddock dismounted the dragon and raced over to the injured teens and Jack. Her face was etched with sorrow.

"Oh, Hiccup…" she half sobbed. "I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner… This is all my fault…"

"Mrs Haddock?" Rapunzel mumbled, her hair shorn from the Baba Yaga's last attack. She looked so frail.

"This should never have happened to any of you…" Valka wept quietly. Jack, who was cradling Merida in his arms, frowned.

"What're you doing here?" he asked. "And how're you…?" A warm glow interrupted Jack before he could finish his question. When it cleared, everyone was astonished to see the physical manifestation of the Man in the Moon once more walking among them.

"Manny?" North exclaimed softly.

"What are you doing here?" Mother Nature asked.

"Because things need to be put to rights," Tsar Lunar replied. He looked sorrowfully at the four Season Spirits, three of which were too badly hurt to even stand. "I am so sorry that this happened…to all of you."

"Is there anything you can do?" Bunny asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Manny shook his head sadly. His gaze fell on Valka, who was holding both Hiccup and Rapunzel up the best that she could. "But there may be something you can do, my dear."

"Me?" Valka blinked.

"I'll ask again, what's she doing here?" Jack cut in.

"Valka hosts an ancient power," Manny explained. "Older than the Guardians, and older than Life itself. It is the reason she could sustain the Baba Yaga for so long." Valka bristled at the name. "And also a reason why she can transcend to our realm."

"She is a half spirit too?" Pitch remarked. Valka pressed, asking the reason why she was there, and why she had a dragon who seemed all too familiar to her (it had bowed its head to Toothless, who was looking humbly dignified for once).

"The dragon, you named Cloudjumper," Manny replied. "Your power is Compassion: a manifestation of Hlin, an ancient entity," he continued (the name was pronounced in a very similar way to _heh-leen_ ). "And it is that power that will return these three to where they belong."

Usually, Jack would have made a dry remark about how they could have been told this a lot sooner but for now he merely turned pleadingly towards Valka, begging her to help his friends. The woman seemed tranquil as she cradled her son on her arms, Rapunzel also at her side, barely conscious.

"Mom…" Hiccup whispered. Valka shushed him gently.

"I'll see you when you wake, Young Man," she promised, before a gentle lullaby began to escape her lips.

 _I'll swim and sail on savage seas  
With ne'er a fear of drowning  
And gladly ride the waves of life,  
If you will stay with me._

 _No scorching sun nor freezing cold  
Will stop you on your journey,  
When I have given you my heart  
And love you for eternity._

A glimmering ribbon of silver light, flickering like a gentle flame, snaked its way around Hiccup, Rapunzel and Merida, enveloping them in a warm glow. The pain in their faces disappeared — they looked almost peaceful. As Valka continued to sing, Jack found himself comforted by the lyrics…by her voice. It was a reassuring song, one that promised safety after a long ordeal. A compassionate voice, offering an escape from trials and a helping hand. Jack wondered how many times Valka had sang this to Hiccup when he was a baby.

 _My dearest one, my darling dear,  
The night has made you weary.  
There is no need of mighty deeds  
When you're safe and sound beside me._

 _For I will bring you rings of gold,  
I'll even sing you poetry,  
And I will keep you from all harm,  
As long as you're beside me._

 _If you've no need for rings of gold,  
And care not for my poetry,  
Then I'll just be a hand to hold  
For as long as you need me._

The silver fire brightened as Merida, Rapunzel and Hiccup began to glow with the same blue-white hue as Moonlight. It was gentler than their uncontrolled attack against the Baba Yaga the other night, but still gave off the impression of a powerful magic. Jack nearly panicked as his friends began to fade from sight — he was starting to see his own arms through Merida's neck.

 _To love, protect and sweetly hold,  
For the dancing and the dreaming.  
Through all life's sorrows and delights  
I'll keep your love inside me._

 _I'll swim and sail on savage seas  
With ne'er a fear of drowning,  
And gladly ride the waves of life,  
If you will stay with me._

The ribbon of silver fire drifted on the wind as Merida, Hiccup and Rapunzel vanished in a cloud blue-white stars, slowly drifting towards the hospital. Jack didn't even have to know how the magic had worked, but he knew that his friends' spirits were being reunited with their physical bodies.

"Thank you," he whispered, smiling gratefully at Valka, who gazed longingly after the cloud of stars. "You saved them."

"I put them in this mess in the first place," Valka shook her head sadly.

"You could not have helped that," Mother Nature reassured. "And Jack is right — you _have_ saved them."

"And you all saved me," Valka smiled gratefully, her sparkling blue eyes shining with joy as she faced the spirits before her. Her gaze fell on Jack in particular. "I could see some things through her eyes," she explained, still unwilling to say the Baba Yaga's name. "My son considers you one of his closest friends."

"And he's one of mine," Jack shrugged. "They all are." Valka nodded.

"And you helped them all through this," she noted. "You helped them all do what they had to do." She paused. "My son is going to live because you helped him in this fight," she said. "For that, you have my thanks, Jack Frost."

"Anytime," Jack smiled. Valka began shining pale silver — the others could tell that she, too, was returning to the mortal realm. "Looking forward to getting to know the real Valeria."

Valka laughed softly and bid a final goodbye to the Guardians, Mother Nature, Man in the Moon and Pitch Black before she vanished. Once she was gone, Manny spoke up.

"You all did a fine job, Jack," he congratulated. "I'm proud of you all."

"We did our best," Jack replied. "Can't say I wasn't scared that things wouldn't turn out the way we wanted it to."

"But it did," Manny smiled. "Those three are now safe." He pondered in thought for a moment. "And I dare say that Guardianship is long overdue for your fellow Spirits."

"Yeah, hold that thought for at least seven decades, please?" Jack frowned. No need to rush things, jeez.

"You should go see them, Jack," Tooth urged. "You've been missing too these past few weeks." Jack nearly facepalmed — of course. He was still a student at Moonstone like the others…

…wait…

"Are they going to be able to go back?" he asked worriedly. "To Moonstone, I mean?" After all, Hiccup's leg would have been discovered, Rapunzel would be lucky to have not been paralysed, and Merida was going to need some serious physiotherapy just to get walking again.

"I think I can arrange a thing or two," Manny chuckled knowingly. "Don't you worry, Jack." He nodded at Mother Nature and Emma. "Now hurry — I suspect your friends will be waking up any moment now."

Jack didn't need to be told twice.


	40. Here's to Never Growing Up

_**Here's to Never Growing Up:**_

Hiccup's head was fuzzier than he could ever remember it being, even more so than the day he'd been stuck in a burning car. His brain felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton wool, and when he tried to open his eyes he was met with a foggy light with murky shadows flitting across his vision. Echoing in his ears was the faintest trace of a voice, so far away he could barely hear what it was saying.

"…ccup! H…p!"

"Son!"

Wait…that was his father's voice. His father was there? Where was he? What had been happening? He could remember a dragon…he'd been able to control fire…Merida could control water and Rapunzel had plant powers or something…and she'd had longer hair…

"Huh?" he mumbled sleepily. He could feel something up his nose.

"Hi…up!" a female voice shouted. It sounded joyous. "Ca…u…ear me?"

Hiccup blinked a few times to clear his vision — he felt too heavy to move, but eventually the fog cleared. He was met with a pristine white room with two figures standing over him. One was a Nordic Blonde girl his age, the other was a large man with a greying red beard and eyes that matched his own.

"'strid? Dad?" Hiccup muttered groggily. Astrid's face became crystal clear — tears were streaming down her face as she broke into a smile.

"You're awake!" she cried gleefully. "I knew you would make it!"

"Thank heavens," Stan 'Stoick' Haddock sighed with relief by his son's bedside. "Oh, Hiccup…I was so worried."

"You're…where am I?" Hiccup asked, his voice still slurred. Stoick ran a hand gently through his son's hair…or what was left of it.

"You're in the hospital, Son," he explained softly. "There was a fire at the house…we think there was an electrical fault in the wiring. You…" The man choked on his own tears, wiping them furiously away. "You were hurt very badly. We weren't sure if you were going to make it."

A fire at home? Hiccup had vague recollections of it. Hadn't he just finished the second round of the dance contest at school?

How long ago had that been?

"You've been in here for three weeks," Astrid explained. "You all have. The doctors were almost certain you weren't going to wake up."

All?

"Who else is…?" Hiccup mumbled. There were sounds of crying from his next-door neighbours. Turning his head as much as he dared, Hiccup could see Fergus unashamedly crying over a figure with a mane of matted red hair…Merida. On his other side, he could see Gothel's jet-black curls, now greying ever so slightly, also shaking from crying. Rapunzel was there too?

"Dad…!" Merida sobbed. "Wha…what's 'appened?"

"My Little Flower…!" Gothel wept. "You're alright!" Hiccup could also see two others by Rapunzel's bedside, ones who resembled his friend far more so than Gothel did. "You wouldn't believe who I found…oh, happy day!"

"It's a miracle," a new voice sounded. It was one of the doctors. "This defies all medical reason! It's incredible."

The crowds cleared and Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel were finally able to get a good look at each other. Needless to say, they were all worse for wear.

"How long do you reckon before we can get out of here?" Rapunzel croaked, her voice almost lost behind her body-cast.

"Remarkably, your bodies have been mending themselves while you were unconscious," the doctor explained. "Miss Corona, you may need to wait a few more days until we're certain your bones have mended, but with a bit of luck and some intense physiotherapy, we may be able to discharge you before the midterms."

Merida gave a croak of triumph as her mother sat by her side, brushing her hair ever so softly. Hiccup's heart suddenly sank — he was in hospital. Meaning the secret of his leg would be out.

"Mr Haddock," the doctor continued. "We have been in contact with Moonstone Arts Academy regarding your situation," he said. "The governors of the Academy have agreed to set up a department specifically for those with disabilities," he smiled. Hiccup's eyes went wide with amazement — was he hearing this correctly or were painkillers messing with his head? "You will have a new prosthetic fitted and will be back in school before you know it."

"Hiccup! That's amazing!" Astrid squeaked with delight. Even Stoick looked proud of his son. Hiccup was afraid his heart was going to give out from beating so fast. Before anyone had time to process what was going on, someone burst into the ward — someone with snow white hair and tailed by a young girl.

"Guys! You're awake!" the boy cheered. The other visitors looked astounded.

"Jack?" Gothel exclaimed. "You're alright?!"

"We just found him," the girl at Jack's side panted. "News of the accidents didn't…he didn't take things very well."

"Do you have any idea how much grief you must have put your mother through?" Fergus snapped half-heartedly. Hiccup and the girls shared a glance — had Jack gone missing after they'd landed themselves on life support?

"Stan…"

The voice was soft but cut through the room like a songbird in Spring. Hiccup and Stoick's heads both turned towards the entrance to the ward where a woman stood in a robe and accompanied by a nurse.

"She said she wanted to see you both," the nurse said. Stoick looked as if he had turned into stone, and Hiccup's face was once more one of disbelief.

He'd seen that woman…recently…she was really…?

"Val…?" Stoick whispered, walking over slowly. "Is it really you?"

"I…I'm so sorry, Stan," Valeria Haddock murmured. "I didn't know where I was for so long…someone brought me here…I never thought that I…"

Stoick gently hushed the woman by placing a hand under her chin. Eyes of forest green met irises of blue, both brimming with tears. Hiccup could also feel himself starting to cry, and it only escalated when he heard his father's words.

"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you."

There was an emotional hush around the entire ward as the two finally reunited. The nurse eventually spoke up to say that in spite of having a memory lapse, Val was fit to go home almost instantly. Stoick was overjoyed and swept his wife off her feet, Val laughing every moment as she cast a joyous look over at her son.

"Alright, everyone," the doctor cut in. "I need to run some check ups on these three," he explained calmly. "If you would all like to wait in the Visitors Lounge, that would be very much appreciated. I'll send the nurses down with any updates."

* * *

Hours later, as evening fell, Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel lay awake discussing what they thought they remembered before waking up. Each of them had a similar tale to tell: they'd been halfway between worlds, an intangible-to-humans spirit with elemental powers granted to them. They'd fought a witch, whose fault it was that they were in the state they were in…the one responsible for their 'accidents'.

"Doesnae quite seem real, does it?" Merida mumbled sleepily, the hospital drugs still in her system.

"I can't help but think that it was," Rapunzel admitted. "We all remember the exact same things."

"Yeah, I remember that you _were_ blonde," Hiccup grunted sarcastically.

"You're lucky I'm still in a cast, Haddock."

A rustling sounded at the window, accompanied by a blue-white glow. The teens looked over carefully, not wanting to damage themselves anymore than they already were. They shared a collective quiet gasp as they saw an all-too-familiar figure climb in through the window.

"It _was_ real…" Merida whispered in disbelief. At the window, Jack Frost's face lit up with delight.

"You can still see me?" he grinned. The others nodded. "She was right…"

"So you really are…" Hiccup began, still unable to get a full sentence out. Jack nodded.

"But I'm going to be sticking with you guys for as long as I can," he promised. "We've still got a school career at Moonstone to finish, right?"

"Did any of your friends have something to do with us being able to go back at all?" Rapunzel smirked groggily. Jack shrugged.

"They may or may not have done," he chuckled. "But, seriously, guys. I cannot believe we actually pulled this off."

"You and us all," Hiccup laughed softly. The adventure wasn't exactly one they would completely forget in a hurry. "Thank you."

Jack smiled as he gave his friends a soft 'You're welcome'.

"I'll drop by with Em for visits," he promised. "Now hurry up and get better. You guys are the only things that make school bearable."

"Oh, Astrid and Eugene can keep you company until midterms," Rapunzel mumbled. "And you've got a ton of studying to catch up on." Jack shrugged.

"Eh, I'll probably fall behind this year anyway," he said. "Never was one for studying."

He slipped back out of the window before anyone had a chance to protest. In the Winter Spirit's wake, the teens just about caught glimpses of golden sand dancing above their heads before they drifted off to sleep, happy in the knowledge that they would wake once the sun rose.

* * *

"It gives me great pleasure to welcome back three incredibly talented students," the dean of Moonstone announced the day school started again following midterms. "We all know who they are, and I think I speak on behalf of everyone that we are delighted to have them back among us following their miraculous recoveries." He paused and faced the front row of students, among which were three in particular: they all bore scars of grave incidents, but they'd made full recoveries that were nothing short of miracles. "Rapunzel Corona, Merida Dunbroch, Henrik Haddock: welcome back."

There was rapturous applause that could have been heard from the other side of Burgess, but even in the din no voice was louder than Jack's as the entire student body welcomed their peers back. Merida flushed as red as her hair, Rapunzel smiled humbly and Hiccup nodded in thanks, his metal leg now out on full view for all to see.

It had been their first day back at school since being discharged from the hospital. Amazingly, although dancing was more strenuous than they perhaps remembered, the three were coping remarkably well. Their performance and academic studies were back in full swing, and they were even looking forward to resuming the dance contest once everyone was sure they were well enough to participate.

Back home as well, things has been improving tenfold. Hiccup's father was staying for a while in Burgess while Val had moved in, also recovered from her own maladies. Hiccup was on talking terms with his father and for once they were able to go for days on end without a single shouting match. The same could very much be said for Merida and Elinor, who could now be seen out and about with each other on multiple occasions. Rapunzel had also finally met her birth parents, who Gothel had managed to track down and contact just before Christmas. The family, now reunited, all lived in a new house after Gothel and Rapunzel moved out of the apartment.

As the days went by, Jack found it strange that everything was just…going back to the way it used to be. No one ever really talked about their adventure, although he knew that they remembered it. Perhaps it was for the best, at least for now. That kind of an experience, while one of a kind and exciting at times, wasn't really something to write home about. Nothing was ever brought up when the gang met up at weekends to go to the movies or hang out at each others' houses. The only times when any kind of reminiscing was done was the rare occasion they went to the lake in the forest and could just about catch glimpses of dragons hiding in the water.

"I reckon they're waiting for you," Eugene smiled as Hiccup and Astrid gazed almost longingly at the pale reflections. "They'll be fine."

"I know," Hiccup nodded. "And we'll be ready this time." Astrid suddenly coughed up a laugh. "What?"

"Nothing," she replied. "I just had this weird dream last night of racing with the dragons. The others were there as well." Hiccup's eyes flew wide — the others as in Finley, the twins, and his cousin?!

"Okay, you have to invite us to see some dragon racing some day," Merida chuckled. The others laughed along with it. It would be a long time before anything like that could happen, and for now they wanted to cherish this normality while it lasted. A phone buzzed in someone's pocket to indicate some kind of notification — Rapunzel was the first to pull hers out and check.

"Oh! They've finalised details for the Dance Contest finals!" she exclaimed. Merida, Jack and Hiccup dug out their phones (Hiccup had refused an offer from his dad to get anything other than a flip-phone) and checked the email that came through. Sure enough, it read: _To Moonstone Dance Contestants_.

"Guess they got the go ahead from the docs," Astrid commented. "What's the theme this time round?"

"Solos," Jack read. "Not really surprised if I'm honest."

"Anyone got plans?" Hiccup smirked, his eyes twinkling. Merida shrugged nonchalantly and replied that she _might_ have something, as did Rapunzel and Jack. "Well, we've waited long enough. May the best dancer win."

"The Big Four, competing against each other," Eugene remarked. Jack shot him a look. "What? That's what everyone's been calling you guys around school since before Christmas!"

"The Big Four, huh?" Rapunzel smiled. "That's got a nice ring to it."

Jack found that he couldn't agree more.

* * *

The first round of the finals ended as Hiccup completed his ballet routine, the very same one that Jack had caught him practising all those weeks ago. Jack was once more moved close to tears, Rapunzel actually _was_ crying, Eugene had shoved his fist into his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from crying, Merida was starting to blub and Astrid looked immensely proud.

It had been a close first round: Rapunzel had once more dazzled with her ribbon dancing, Jack had astounded with his tap, and Merida had impressed with her break dancing. Amazingly, despite their injuries, they all seemed to be on top of their game and Jack was fairly certain that he had a good idea as to why that was.

The dean stepped up onto the stage with an envelope in his hands once the judging had been completed — everyone knew that two finalists would be selected to go head to head in a dance-off to complete the competition. With the Big Four, as they were known throughout the school, being so close in skill, no one really knew which way things would go.

"Well done, contestants," the dean said. "It's been very close this evening but as you know only two can compete in the final dance-off."

The four friends shared handshakes with each other as the dean opened the envelope.

"The first student going through to the dance-off is…MERIDA DUNBROCH!"

Merida shrieked so loudly down Jack's ear that he had to make sure his eardrum was still intact. Through the applause, Elinor's proud cheers could be heard above every other voice in the room. The dean silenced the crowd and went onto the next name.

"Merida, your opponent will be… HENRIK HADDOCK!"

Hiccup was so startled he nearly feel backwards off his chair. Rapunzel and Jack both gave their congratulations to their friends, as well as making sure that Hiccup hadn't given himself a heart attack — another trip to the hospital was the last thing that anyone really wanted.

"Commiserations, Rapunzel and Jack," the dean called out as Merida and Hiccup made their way to the stage for the final dance-off. "You have been amazing contenders and we are so proud to have you both as students of Moonstone." Rapunzel and Jack took bows towards the audience before joining them to view the dance-off. The dean turned towards Merida and Hiccup, providing them with the final set of rules: the music has been kept a secret from both dancers, but whatever comes up the contestant will have to dance for at least eight bars of music before switching. Any hesitation for more than bars will result in a free pass to the opponent.

"Think you can handle this, Haddock?" Merida smirked.

"Bring it on, Firecracker," Hiccup retorted in a similar manner.

A spotlight fell on the stage to indicate the dance space and the music started…

It was Beethoven's 5th Symphony.

"YES!" Eugene's voice shouted in triumph.

Merida looked a little thrown off guard for a moment as the first bars played but as soon as the opening notes had faded she sprung into action, moving along with the music as she would with any of her dances. She danced for the entire first segment before the powerful notes began again and Hiccup took over.

The music played furiously for the opening segment and the two students danced likewise. It truly was a battle of the dances, and although one might argue that ballet was the more obvious choice for the kind of music, Beethoven's 5th Symphony wasn't exactly a dance piece of music. Its changing tempos and tone made it difficult to even imagine dancing to it, and yet somehow both Merida and Hiccup were making their styles work.

The music came to a stop after seven minutes of dancing. Both Merida and Hiccup were out of breath and grinning their heads off, hugging each other and shaking hands as applause echoed through the hall. A break was called for the judge's deliberation so the gang retreated backstage for a brief respite.

"Well, you got to see me break dancin' to Beethoven, Flynn," Merida smirked breathlessly as she held out a hand to Eugene. "Pay up."

"I'm not even upset," Eugene shrugged back as he handed over a $10 bill, much to Merida's surprise (this ended up in her actually trying to give the money back for the next five minutes).

"That was seriously close," Rapunzel said. "You guys were amazing up there."

"You and Jack weren't too bad yourselves," Hiccup panted, grabbing the nearest bottle of water and downing it in ten seconds flat.

"Your parents are going to be so proud of you, Hiccup," Astrid smiled warmly. "You know that, right?" Hiccup flushed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Jack suddenly looked away from the rest of the group, his face forlorn. "Hey, you okay?" Astrid frowned.

"I'm fine," Jack muttered back. Astrid shot a glance at Hiccup who quickly moved to cover her mouth — he withdrew his hand just as quickly with a yell of disgust.

"Fine stands for Freaked Out, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional!" Astrid blurted out at top speed before Hiccup began snapping something about _that_ version of the film being far inferior to the original. Jack cracked a small smile at the couple's antics before admitting that he had something on his mind.

"Are we still going to see each other?" he wondered out loud. "After all this is over?"

"We've still got at least another two years here, man," Eugene pointed out. "Don't get too worried."

"But after that?" Jack sighed. "Guys, you know what I am," he said.

"And?" Merida shrugged.

"I haven't aged in 300 years," Jack huffed. "You guys are going to live your lives and grow old… Me? I'm stuck as a seventeen year-old for the rest of forever."

"I thought we established that we're still going to be friends?" Rapunzel pointed out. "And we're going to see each other again, you know that."

"Also, wonnae we still be able to see you because we've had the whole 'experience' with the Spirit Realm, anyway?" Merida added. "Donnae be so worried."

Jack still looked unconvinced. Hiccup smiled and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"If you're worried about us forgetting you, we won't," he reassured. "Somehow I don't even think that's possible."

"You trying to say something, Haddock?" Jack smirked.

"I'm saying that you're our best friend," Hiccup replied. "And whatever happens, Rapunzel's right — we _are_ going to see each other again after _this_ …" He gestured to the school corridors around him. "…is all over."

"You just gestured to the whole school," Astrid smirked. Hiccup nudged her in the ribs as retaliation. Jack smiled, his confidence reestablished.

"Just don't grow up too fast, okay?" he chuckled softly. Merida laughed and threw her arms over Jack and Rapunzel's shoulders.

"Personally, I'm not plannin' on growin' up at all any time soon," she grinned.

"I'll second that," Eugene laughed. Rapunzel third-ed the statement, and Hiccup and Astrid also agreed. The team shared a hug just as the dean called them out to announce the results of the contest.

/\

The team didn't all stay in Burgess forever. After they graduated from Moonstone, they stuck around for a time before moving on with their own lives: Merida was taking over the break dance and hip hop scene both in the UK and the States, starring in shows and films before anyone could blink. Rapunzel spent some time performing in theatres, in Broadway and in her home country of Germany, with Eugene travelling alongside her as well as becoming a popular actor in both Hollywood and the European move scene.

Astrid was quick to enter the music scene, and her competitive and hardworking nature soon landed her a contract as well as a reputation as one of the biggest breakout artists of the generation. Hiccup was never far behind her, travelling around the world as her techie whenever she was on tour. When he wasn't behind the sound desk, Hiccup had founded an organisation which aimed to bring dance to the less-physically able, and he was an ambassador for the organisation and a role model to aspiring dancers everywhere. His ballet skills had even landed him a role in several prominent ballet performances across the globe.

Jack watched this all unfold as he travelled on the wind, keeping an eye on his friends from afar. He dropped by for a visit every now and then, and although it still saddened him slightly to see his friends growing old without him, he was ever grateful that, true to their word, they never forgot about him.

Jack made it to all of his friends' special occasions. He was there for both sets of weddings: Rapunzel and Eugene, and Hiccup and Astrid; he was there for their kids when they were growing up, and he made sure to make it to at least one of their performances each year for as long as they were in the arts businesses. He was there for their children's achievements, their graduations, and their families in turn.

A lifetime may seem a long time for a mortal, but for Jack it was all too fleeting. Before long, his friends grew old, their hair turning white and their figures bending double. He knew that the time was drawing nearer and nearer, so he allowed them to spend as much time as they could with their families.

One day, Hiccup lay in the bed of a care home, surrounded by his family. Astrid sat at his side, her storm-blue eyes still shining the way they'd done ever since they were children. His children and grandchildren stood around the bed, the youngest clutching stuffed toy dragons and the eldest knowing that this was the last time their beloved family member would see them. Hiccup smiled his goodbyes as he turned to his wife, clutching her hand gently.

"I'll see you on the other side," he murmured. Astrid smiled.

"Don't overwork yourself too much," she whispered back as Hiccup's bright green eyes closed for the last time.

Elsewhere, Rapunzel lay in a hospital bed, with none left but Eugene at her side. Their children and grandchildren had just said their goodbyes, and now all she needed was for her childhood sweetheart to see her off.

"Say hi to the others for me, Blondie," Eugene smiled gently. Rapunzel laughed.

"You're never going to drop that, are you?" she shook her head slowly. Eugene, his beard silver-white and his hair nearly gone, kissed his wife on the forehead.

"You were the only dream I ever needed," he whispered. Rapunzel felt a single happy tear slip from her eye.

"And you were mine."

Although Merida had never married, that didn't mean she was alone. Her family still surrounded her — her brothers were by her side, as were her nieces, nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews. They were all there for her.

"Donnae settle down, wherever you end up," Hubert chuckled.

"Yeah — wouldnae be our sister if you did," Harris added. Merida smiled weakly.

"I'll be tearin' things up even after I'm long gone, you know tha'," she croaked. "I'll say hi to Mum and Dad for you."

"You do tha'," Hamish smiled. "Just donnae try to get down Mum's throat."

"Donnae worry," Merida laughed. "I won't."

All the while, Jack watched as his friends passed peacefully from the world of the living. As the moon rose in the sky, it seemed to shine a lot brighter than normal. He smiled, a peaceful serenity crossing his face as he felt something squeeze his hand. Looking down, he saw Emma, her hair billowing in the wind that she commanded.

"They live their lives the way they should have," she murmured softly. Jack agreed.

"You're right," he nodded. "This was how it was always supposed to be."

A serene silence fell across the sky and wherever there was winter, snow fell softly like tiny flakes of cotton, glowing in the blue-white light of the moon.


	41. Epilogue

_**Epilogue:**_

One may not think that it would be possible for all of the seasons to convene at one moment in time. Spring would lead to Summer, which in turn lead to Autumn, who would greet Winter, before the cycle repeated itself.

Yet every now and then, hidden within the shroud of the Spirit Realms, four spirits would take a day off from their duties and race around the Earth:

A youthful maiden, head adorned with flowing golden hair decorated with flowers and streaming with starlight.

A bold warrior, gifted with flaming locks and eyes that shone with the same brilliance as an icy lake.

A young man wise beyond his apparent years, astride a black dragon with shining green eyes and with a flaming sword in his hand.

A gleeful hellion, sporting snow-white hair and icy eyes, wielding a staff which commanded the air itself.

They never went by the names the cosmos had given them, not when they were with each other. They went by the names that they had known each other as in a lifetime they'd made sure to remember. One step at a time, they'd brought themselves together again, ready to share a friendship that would last beyond time itself.

They were the Guardians of the Earth, Season Spirits, Commanders of the Elements and Protectors of the Realm.

They were best friends.

They were Rapunzel, Merida, Hiccup and Jack.

They were the Big Four.

* * *

 **Well, it has been a long journey with this story, but thank you to everyone who has stuck around to the end! This triple update concludes** ** _One Step at a Time_** **, my contribution to the Big Four Crossover fandom.**

 **Once again, thank you to all readers of this story. Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favourites – they all mean so much to me.**

 **My next project will be something entirely different. Until now, all of my stories on this site have been based around** ** _How to Train Your Dragon_** **(** ** _One Step at a Time_** **still counts as such, although it's technically based in the world of** ** _Rise of the Guardians_** **), but my next story will be for a completely new franchise. The story itself is finished, so updates should be on a regular basis, but I won't start uploading until the beginning of February: combined with updating** ** _One Step at a Time_** **, I've been bogged down with university work** **lately and have only just finished two major assignments. Long story short: I need a break from writing. Keep an eye on my profile for updates, though, and I hope to see you guys around!**

 **In the meantime, keep reading and writing. You're awesome.**


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